A New Player: Year Three: Mists of Lies
by Faykan
Summary: An insane murderer if after Harry Potter, but his closest friend remain uncertian of Black's true motives. And Albus Dumbledore investigates on how best to deal with the young upstart who so quickly ingrained himself in the Boy-who-lived's life. - Coverart by Sia-chan on Deviantart
1. Prologue

**A great many thanks to though who have put their time and effort into reviewing and commenting on my first two segments of A New Player! I am having a lot of fun writing this fic, helped greatly by your words of encouragment and advice! Please keep it up as we enter the third year of Hogwarts, and the thickening of the soupy fog that is my plotline!**

**New Player Year 3**

**Mists of Lies**

**Prologue**

**House Elf Service**

Harry Potter stared in utter bewilderment as he was led around his room by the most unusual creature he had ever met. Dobby the house elf, _his _house elf, Harry reminded himself, insisted upon showing him all the cleaning and changes he had made to Harry's room and asking if it was alright for him to do so. Gone were the rags he had worn while he served his previous masters, the Malfoy family. Now Dobby proudly wore a black and gold tunic and trousers that had the symbol of the Potter family on the shoulder and back.

"Yeah sure, it's fine, really Dobby," Harry said in response to Dobby's look of utter desperation to please him. "And please, just call me Harry.

"Of course, Master Harry, Sir." Dobby replied bowing lowly to Harry for the sixteenth time since Harry had entered his room that day.

Harry sighed exasperatedly, and looked around his room. Dobby had actually done a really good job with it. The thick layer of dust that had covered the room when Harry left it last year was completely gone, leaving the room almost shining. The wooden writing desk was polished, ready for Harry to set his books down and work on his summer homework. The bed sheets were all mended and turned back, and Hedwig's cage was cleaned out with the door open for his owl to reinhabit.

"No Dobby, just Harry…" Harry tried again, but Dobby couldn't grasp the concept of Harry just being Harry; it was always 'Master Harry' or 'Harry, Sir'. Finally Harry just gave up completely and set his trunk down beside the bed, hoping against hope that this month would pass quickly so he could rejoin his best friends in the wizarding world.

Harry had no idea why he was always left at the Dursleys for at least three weeks every summer; it would be so much easier if his friends Ron or Faykan just took him to their homes for the entire holiday. Frankly, Harry was quite curious of where Faykan actually lived, since he had mentioned that he had stopped living with Arabella Figg two years ago. His best friend was both amazing and a puzzle for him at the same time. Sometimes he would behave just like a normal boy, just like Harry, Ron or Draco, their other friend from Hogwarts, but sometimes he would just change and act as if he was far older than any of them. Harry was also concerned about some stranger events that transpired during the last year.

During the Christmas holiday, they had used Polyjuice potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room and question Theodore Nott about the Chamber of Secrets, but they had gathered very little information regarding it from him. Instead, the arrogant boy had mentioned that he and several others had noticed how close Faykan was to Harry, and hinted that it might have been _romantic_ in nature. Harry didn't know what to think of this, as he certainly didn't feel that way for his best friend, but he had noticed that Faykan never seemed to be out of his presence, even for the shortest amount of time. Faykan never tried to engage anything with him, but it was slightly odd to Harry for two people to be that close at almost all times. Harry had wanted to ask Faykan about this several times, but never had a good opportunity with the problems that had plagued the students of Hogwarts last year. 'Hopefully,' thought Harry as he lay down for the night, 'Faykan will come get me in about three weeks, and I can ask him then…'

_**Please Review!**_


	2. Chapter 1

**Loving the upswing of reviews with the Prologue, please keep sending you thoughts, i love hearing them! Now finally comes the moment I am sure many have been waiting for. Enjoy!**

**Chapter One**

**In the House of Undol**

Much to Harry's surprise, Faykan came to get him far earlier than he had expected. Only a week into the summer holidays, Harry was found reading from his '_A History of Magic_' book for more information about witch burning in the fourteenth century and working on his corresponding essay one night, when the now-familiar crack of Dobby apparating sounded behind him.

"Master Harry, your friend Mr. Undol is here to see you, Sir," he said just seconds before the shout of Vernon Dursley was heard from below, calling him downstairs.

The Dursleys were not too thrilled about finding Dobby in their house. Aunt Petunia had almost attacked Dobby when he appeared at the table to serve Harry during his first day back for the summer. Uncle Vernon had tried to force Harry to keep Dobby away from them, but to very little avail, as Dobby did everything Harry asked of him in completely strange and twisted ways. Since Harry asked Dobby to avoid his family, Dobby took to moving invisible throughout the house, which only unnerved the Dursleys more when they found out.

Harry went downstairs to find Faykan waiting in the entryway for him, a smug grin on his face at the looks of contempt and fear on the three Dursleys. Faykan was wearing robes of a sea blue colour which, Harry noticed, made his bright eyes even more pronounced.

"Hello, Harry," Faykan said as Harry descended the last step, "Hope you haven't been too bored while I was away?"

"Naw, just was wrapping up that last of the summer work." Harry replied, causing his friend's smile to widen.

"Excellent, now we'll have the rest of the summer to do as we please."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "We're leaving so soon?" he asked, confused.

"Yes, unless you'd rather stay of course," Faykan said in all seriousness.

"No way!" Harry said, punching his friend in the arm for being joked with.

"Good, then have Dobby pack you things. You'll only need your wand for the moment, as I want to give you the scenic route to my home."

Harry dashed back upstairs and asked Dobby politely to pack up his things, while he grabbed his wand. He turned to rejoin Faykan, and almost ran into his friend as he entered his room.

"Almost forgot," Faykan said as if their conversation hadn't been interrupted. "Dobby, you'll take Harry's things to this location." He showed Dobby a piece of parchment. The house elf studied it for a second, and then nodded affirmatively.

"Well, shall we Harry?" Faykan finally said as Dobby ran around the room, levitating and shrinking all of Harry belongings so they would fit into his trunk. Harry smiled as he followed his best friend out the door and down into the moonlit street. As they made their way down the street, Harry noticed that despite the few inches he had grown the last year, Faykan had finally caught up to him in height, and in fact was about half an inch taller than him. Harry took the time they spent walking in silence to study the changes in his friend. Not only had Faykan grown like Harry, but he had let his hair grow slightly, and had it pulled back and tied with a silver ribbon. Harry noticed that Faykan was still as thin as him, but he paid it little mind, as he considered that normal.

They had just turned down to Magnolia Crescent when Harry felt a funny prickling on the back of his neck; it almost felt as if they were being watched. Faykan had paused in searching for wherever he was leading Harry, and was looking around. They pulled out their wands and lit them with a _lumos_ spell.

Harry held is wand high, looking for the source of their discomfort, when he heard the padding of feet behind him. He whirled, and saw in the sudden wand light a large black dog hiding in the shadows of a back alleyway. "Ah, just a dog," Faykan said before turning to Harry offering him the same parchment he had shown Dobby. "Read this," he said.

Harry took the parchment and read: _'The Treegarth of Orthanc is the home of Faykan Undol.'_ Harry looked up at his friend in confusion, "What's this rubbish?" he said giving the parchment back to Faykan.

"You'll see…" Faykan said as he grabbed Harry arm and spun on his heel. The sensation for Harry was completely unexpected; like being squeezed through a tube backwards…

Harry landed hard, and would have fallen over if Faykan hadn't grabbed him for support. Blinking slightly, Harry looked around to see where they were. He couldn't recognize anything, so Harry felt it safe to presume they were not in Little Whinging anymore. He and Faykan were standing in a small forest clearing, surrounded by the strangest trees Harry had ever seen. They made the Forbidden forest outside Hogwarts seem tiny and insignificant. The air was close and rather warm, even for July. "Welcome to my home Harry," Faykan said and Harry turned to see him pointing westward where, over the lines of trees, Harry could make out a large, dark, stone tower.

Harry kept close to Faykan as they made their way through the dense foliage toward the tower, as Harry kept hearing strange sounds echoing through the forest: grinding and crunching and many other sounds that Harry couldn't identify. After a particularly loud groan-like echo sounded, Harry cried out in fear, "What was that?"

Faykan paused, listening. After a moment or two, he ushered Harry ahead and quickened their pace, "Keep moving Harry, something is amiss in the forest tonight."

Harry was worried and confused during the rest of their walk to the large tower. Faykan was silent and kept stopping suddenly when loud noises were heard in the forest, but they saw nothing. Fifteen minutes later, they entered a large clearing directly surrounding the quite massive tower. The black stone shone in the moonlight, rising some five hundred feet into the sky. The sides were sheer, and craning his neck, Harry could see it ending in four large points at the very top.

Faykan mounted the steps up to the large double doors two at a time, Harry right behind him. He watched with interest as Faykan pulled out two solid black keys and slid them into the double lock in the center of the doors, causing them to grind slowly open, revealing a torch-lit circular room with several doors spaced around the walls. Harry took his time to glance around the chamber. The entire room was made of the same black stone as the outside of the tower, polished and carved in an artistic form that, to Harry, seemed far older than even the architecture of Hogwarts. The light sources came from several large orb-like braziers posted on each side of the five double doors that fanned around the room. Each pair of doors had the same design of a single white hand painted onto the iron bound wood. Directly across from the main doors that he and Faykan were standing in was a large throne, coated in moonlight that came from a window high in the ceiling. And most curious feature of all was the small pillar in the exact center of the room, rising about three feet off the floor. Upon it was a black cloth covering a spherical object that Harry couldn't see. As Faykan and Harry entered, there were a pair of loud cracks and two house elves appeared, both wearing black robes emblazoned with the same white hand symbol on the chest. They bowed lowly to Faykan, "Welcome back, Master Faykan," they said in unison.

"_Mae govannen,_ _Tua_, _Mool_," _[1] _Faykan said, nodding to them both, then gesturing to Harry, "This is Harry Potter; I would like you both to treat him as you would me." The elves nodded and bowed low to Harry before popping out of sight again.

"If you need anything Harry, feel free to call either of them." Faykan said turning to Harry, "Now, let me lead you to your room."

Faykan led Harry through the central room and up two long flights of spiraling stairs, and finally down a corridor that ended in three more pairs of double doors. Faykan indicated the doorway on the right "That is the main guest chamber," he then pointed at the right doors, "This is my room, feel free to enter if you need me for anything, and that," and nodding at the last pair of doors, directly ahead, "leads to the terrace overlooking the forest. We're a good three hundred feet up so the view is pretty amazing."

Harry nodded, suddenly feeling very tired; the adrenaline from the forest was wearing off. He pushed open the right hand doors and walked into a well-lit study with a large black writing desk and several chairs. In the back was a smaller door that led to the bedroom, which had a large four-poster feather bed that reminded Harry of the dormitory beds at Hogwarts, except that this one much larger, and stuck to the theme of black and white. Off to the side was a bathroom, complete with a walk in shower, sink and full body mirror. Thankfully, Dobby had already brought all of Harry's possessions, so he quickly changed into a pair of his pajamas and slid into the soft linen sheets of his bed. He fell asleep immediately as his head hit the pillow.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus Dumbledore sat in his study, pondering over a book he had recently acquired about Ancient Runes. He had hoped to strengthen the wards over this summer, especially since the breakout of Sirius Black, and the coming of dementors to Hogwarts this next school year. He was startled out of his thoughts as one of his many silver instruments started to flash and whir, signaling that Harry Potter had left Little Whinging. Dumbledore rose quickly, the book forgotten, and strode to observe the movements of the instrument. It should have been able to pinpoint wherever Harry was taken, but it continued to spin in confusion. Wherever Harry had gone, it was shrouded by magic from anyone looking for it, either unplottable or under a Fidelius Charm, or both. Even then, however, the tracker should have been able to pinpoint a general area that the boy was in, as it did when he was at the Burrow last summer. Yet the spindle continued to turn, unable to find any trace of Harry's magical signature. Albus didn't like this new development; Harry's disappearance would set heavily on his mind. He should have stayed at least three weeks at the Dursleys to ensure the blood wards were at their strongest for the rest of the year.

Running to the fireplace, Albus flooed for Severus, and waiting as the Potion Master stepped through, looking as confused as Albus felt.

"Harry is gone from Little Winging, Severus." Albus said quickly, showing Severus the silver tracker that was keyed to Harry's magical signature.

Severus studied the instrument for a short time, and finally glanced back at Albus, "How can this be? He has no way of traveling magically or else we and the Ministry would have been alerted…" Severus grew thoughtful for a moment, "Unless, Undol… Undol must have taken Potter; it's the only way the boy would have gone willingly. Undol has hidden him away from us, whether knowingly or not though, I cannot say…"

Albus pondered his friend's words. If indeed young Faykan had spirited Harry away from his watchful gaze, then his usefulness was definitely starting to grow thin. Albus had allowed the young Undol boy to be close to Harry, hoping that he could use the boys' apparent friendship and brotherly love for each other to further bend them to his will. To help mold Harry into a perfect weapon to use against Voldemort, but this… Albus needed to find a way to tighten his grip on the free spirited boys, or they world would suffer for it. Albus remember clearly the words that he had snatched from Faykan's mind last year: '_The sleeper must be awakened, or the world will fall._' Albus realized the meaning with a start. Undol must have his own plans for Harry, and this act proved that he would fight against Albus just a readily as Voldemort to achieve them.

"You must find him, Severus, if you can before the school year begins. Otherwise we need to formulate a plan against Undol. For the greater good, Harry must fulfill the prophecy…"

"Honestly Albus," Severus complained, "Now you're making me look after these boys like a nursemaid. Isn't it bad enough that I must teach the brats as well as spy on the Dark Lord for you?"

"Severus… Please."

The Potion Master sighed heavily, and nodded.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry awoke to the pleasant warmth of sunlight pouring from one of the small windows in his room. He sat up, stretching and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table. He had just had the best night of sleep he could remember in a long time, even at Hogwarts. After a refreshing shower, Harry walking back into the bedroom wrapped in a towel. Dobby or one of Faykan's house elves must have known he had woken, because a set of his day robes were laid out on the corner of the bed for him. They were emerald green; of course, Faykan had ordered the colors for his non school robes for the last two years to be specifically tailored for Harry to bring out his eyes. Shaking his head slightly at the memory, Harry pulled them on and stepped out into the hallway. The doors on his right were open, leading to the rather large balcony, and the smell of food was wafting down the corridor.

Stepping through the open doors, Harry gasped. The view _was_ amazing. Harry could see the tops of trees spreading out on all directions for a several miles, breaking off to long green plains in one direction and rising into large snowcapped mountains in the other. Harry's stomach growled, bringing his attention back to his immediate vicinity. There were two chairs positioned on either end of a small table piled high with eggs, bacon, and sausages. Two goblets sat next to a pitcher of clear water. As Harry sat down one of Faykan's elves apparated nearby, started piling food into a plate and filled Harry's goblet with the water.

"Um, where's Faykan?" Harry asked hesitantly. He still didn't know how to address house elves very well.

"Master Faykan is taking a walk in the forest Harry, Sir." The elf replied, pushing the plate towards Harry, "Master Faykan asked little _Tua_ to make sure Harry, Sir, was fed and clothed before he returned so they could spend the day together." _Tua_ added with a sheepish grin. Clearly the idea of making sure that Harry was clothed was slightly embarrassing to the small creature.

"Well, thanks." Harry said, picking up his utensils and starting to cut into the sausages.

The elf simply smiled and disapparated away, leaving Harry to his food and his thoughts. The food reminded Harry of the feasts at Hogwarts, and he guessed that there might be house elves to cook at the school as well, which made sense to him, seeing as they had so many people to feed multiple times a day.

As Harry was finishing his second plate of food (_Tua_ came back and refilled it after he finished the first time) he spied movement on the edge of the forest. Peering down, Harry saw the small figure of Faykan making his way slowly through the gaps in the trees. He seemed to be taking his time, and kept turning as if talking with someone else, but Harry couldn't see anyone with Faykan. When Faykan made it to the edge of the tree line, he looked up at the tower, saw Harry on the balcony, and lifted his hand in greeting. Harry waved in return, and watched as Faykan turned back toward the forest for a few extra seconds, and finally made his way into the tower.

"Morning Harry," Faykan said as he walked onto the balcony and popped a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"Morning," Harry replied, picking up his goblet of water and taking a long drink. The flavor was unlike anything he had ever had before, and Harry looked at the water in surprise, noting its earthy rich taste, but he couldn't see anything in the water that could have changed it. Glancing at Faykan, Harry saw that his friend was watching him closely while eating through a plate of eggs, "It's not poisonous, if you're wondering," he said teasingly after swallowing his current mouthful. Harry stuck out his tongue in reply, and took another long swig of the water, relishing the cool and surprisingly filling drink.

Just then a large brown barn owl came soaring over the forest toward where the two boys sat, landed on the handrail on the balcony, and extended a newspaper in its beak to Faykan, who took it and placed a Knut in the tiny pouch attached to the bird's leg. Faykan unfolded the paper, and sighed audibly, finally tossing it aside, onto the table. Harry leaned over to read the top headline:

_**BLACK STILL AT LARGE**_

'_Sirius Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today._

_"We are doing all we can to recapture Black," said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community to remain calm."_

_Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

_"Well, really, I had to, don't you know," said an irritable Fudge. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And let's face it-who'd believe him if he did?"_

_While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse.'_

Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one.

"He murdered thirteen people?" said Harry sitting up and looking to Faykan.

"So the Ministry says at least…" Faykan replied looking troubled. "But the thing they don't bother mentioning Harry, is that they sent Black straight to Azkaban without a trial, so he could possibly be innocent. Not that they'll ever change their mind about it…" He sighed again, a deep sorrowful sound, and finally turned to Harry, a small smile on his face.

"But enough about Sirius Black, we've got almost two months of activity to plan out. So Mr. Potter, what would you like to do first?"

Harry had no idea what there even was to do here, "Um, maybe you could start by showing me around?"

"Of course," Faykan said jumping to his feet, and together they set off into the twists of the tower, exploring it from the kitchen and potion lab in the basement, all they way through the many guest rooms and studies up to the flat platform on the roof that was set between the four spike-like mounts. Faykan then took the time to point out landmarks and places that he said Harry might find interesting. Namely he indicated a large river about a mile southward that he called 'The Isen,' and the wide plains beyond it that was call the Westford, which ironically traveled further east of where the tower stood.

"How would we get there, Fay?" Harry asked, as he was rather interested on where they actually were, and was eager to go traveling around the area.

"We ride of course…" Faykan said absently, as if Harry was silly for not knowing the answer.

"Ride?" Harry choked. He had never even seen a horse in his life, let alone ridden one. Faykan turned to him, frowning slightly as he realized this. "Well, unless you'd rather walk the entire distance… Rest assured, I'll teach you how to ride, and the horses here are very gentle with new riders."

Faykan and Harry walked down to the forest edge, Harry wondering the whole time where the horses they were going to ride even were. Harry was terrified of having to ride, sure he was going to fall off and make a fool of himself. He started when Faykan let out a piercing whistle, and echoing out from the trees came a responding whinny. Harry turned toward the trees in time to see two horses walk out, the most amazing looking animals he had ever seen. They were large; one a black-grey with white legs and the other was white with a dark colored head.

Faykan walked forward and patted the black horse's head and murmuring soothing words in its ears. Harry wanted to edge away, nervous at having to sit on top of such a large creature, when he felt a nose nudge the side of his head. Harry jumped, spinning to the black faced horse looking at his with its large brown eyes, almost reassuringly. The horse nudged him again, and slowly trotted over to a bent tree that Harry could use to climb up to the same level of the horse.

"You better go over to her, Sootnose will keep pestering you until you follow her instructions," Faykan said and Harry turned to see him already mounted on the black horse. "Don't worry, she is very gentle, just like Snowhoof here," he added, patting his steed between the ears, which twitched in an affectionate way as he touched them.

Harry slowly walked over to the tree and walked halfway up it, until his waist was level with Sootnose's back. The horse then edged over until she was right next to Harry, allowing him to swing a leg over her and ease his weight onto her back. Sootnose, seeming to sense Harry's agitation at being off the ground like this edged away gently from the tree, and walked slowly to where Faykan waited atop Snowhoof. Harry caught Faykan watching his progress and he quickly focused on staying on the horse, trying to match the bouncing gait as Sootnose trotted after Faykan's mount into the forest.

"You ready to quicken our pace, Harry?" Faykan called back to him after a short time. Harry was most definitely not ready, and tightened his hold on his horse's mane, leaning forward slightly to ease the pressure on his lower body as the she quickened her pace. Harry found a pattern in the movements of the body beneath him and finally was able to stop his entire body bouncing with every step Sootnose took.

Almost a half hour later, Harry could see the trees thinning out as he and Faykan exited the forest and came to the banks of a wide lazy river. Sootnose edged up beside Faykan's horse, and Harry could see Faykan smiling at his progress of learning to ride. Faykan slid off Snowhoof and helped Harry dismount as well. "Welcome to the fords of Isen, Harry." Faykan said waving his arms wide to indicate the river. Harry glanced around at the wide expanse of the river and saw Faykan grin at him again, before he started to pull his robe off over his head. Faykan stripped down to his pants and, with another quick glance at Harry, dived headfirst into the water, which clearly was deeper than its name implied. He resurfaced moments later, tossing the water out of his hair.

Faykan swam backward a few strokes, deeper into the river and called out, "Come on Harry, the water is great." Harry sighed, knowing that telling Faykan that he couldn't swim would not be a good excuse, and pulled his clothes off. Instead of diving in like Faykan however, Harry waded slowly into the river, becoming accustomed to the temperature of the water gradually. Harry was certain that Faykan was watching him while he attempted to swim a few strokes, and knew he was going about it completely wrong when Faykan swam over to help. "Here, let's try this," Faykan said as he lifted Harry's body and set him horizontally using his arms to support his weight so that he could practice the correct arm and leg movements.

Nearly two hours later, Harry had finally managed to learn the proper technique and was able to swim on his own. He and Faykan swam side by side for several lengths, Faykan giving Harry final bits of instruction when they heard the distinctive crack of apparition and turned to see both of Faykan's elves and Dobby waiting for them on the bank near their clothes. The two boys waded out of the river just as the three house elves were setting out a large blanket on the sunlit grass. Dobby handed Harry a large towel to dry himself while Faykan simply cast a wandless drying charm on himself. Faykan then spoke a long quick stream of elvish and both of his robed elves vanished with a pair of loud cracks, only to reappear moments later carrying a large basket of food between them.

"Could anyone learn to speak like that?" Harry asked as he dried his hair.

"Of course," Faykan answered, "Are you asking for me to teach you?"

"I don't know," Harry said playfully, "Are you offering?"

Faykan smiled as he bit into a sandwich that the elves had brought. He chewed thoughtfully for a bit, swallowed and finally said, "Sure, but not just yet. Let's wait till around your birthday."

Harry nodded and together they ate the wonderful lunch that the house elves had prepared for them, Harry drinking another two glasses of the rich, earth tasting water. After they had finished and the house elves had whisked away the remains of food and the blanket, Faykan and Harry both rode back to the tower on Snowhoof, as Sootnose had wandered off somewhere into the forest.

They then spent the rest of the day, and several days afterward practicing dueling (As Faykan told Harry that they could use magic freely in and around his house) and Faykan started teaching Harry the basics of sword combat, allowing him to borrow one of the many blades that were housed in his several drawing rooms. Harry had selected a light one handed sword that Faykan said was called _H__adhafang_, and was of elvish make, very similar to his own _Glamdring_. Harry also spent a lot of time in the tower's library, pouring over all the books he could read, since there were many that were written in languages that he could not recognize. Faykan also took to reading some of these other books to Harry, on his request, and Harry enjoyed hearing the tales of the past ages. Professor Binns' lessons had never gone earlier than the middle ages, therefore all this knowledge was new and very exciting, even more so because Faykan was a very good story teller.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Severus Snape cursed Undol and Potter's names for about the hundredth time as he stormed up to the door of number four Privet Drive. He had spent the last few days looking for the two boys, starting at the Burrow, and slowly expanding to Diagon alley, Hogsmead, and several other wizarding locations in and around London. He finally had decided to simply ask Harry's relatives if they knew where their nephew had gone, even though he doubted that they knew where their pampered little prince of a nephew had gone. His secondary reasoning for coming here was to find some of Potter's magical signature so he could try and follow it directly.

Petunia Dursley opened the door and narrowed her eyes at the Potions Master, scrutinizing the man's appearance. Severus had decided to forgo wearing his black Professor robes in favor of a simple black pinstripe suit. Petunia studied Severus' face for a moment, and finally widened her eyes in recognition, "You!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, me…" Severus said coldly. She moved to slam the door in his face, but Severus blocked it with a well placed foot, "the only reason I am here Petunia, is to ask the whereabouts of your nephew, Harry Potter."

Petunia's face blanched for a moment, "He's not here. His freak of a friend De Vries took him away somewhere." She said shortly, struggling to close the door on Severus' foot.

Severus sighed, obviously Undol had used a false name for these Muggles just for this purpose, to throw off anyone who might try to follow him and Potter if they took off out of the blue. "Then kindly permit me to see Mr. Potter's room for a few moments, and then I will gladly disappear as quickly as I have arrived," he said snidely.

She glared at him for a moment longer, then finally opened the door and allowed Severus to enter. She pointed up the stairs to the smallest bedroom and he quickly ascended them and entered the room. The room was essentially bare, except for the furniture. It was almost as if Potter carried all his worldly possessions with him.

Shaking the random thoughts about Potter aside, Severus held his wand aloft and muttered, "_Ostendo sum veneficus vestigium_."_[2]_ Slowly, soft colors representing different magical signatures lifted from all over the room. Most prominent were emerald green, deep azure, and bright gold. The gold was contained to the room, so it must have been the magic of the house elf that Mr. Potter had acquired at the end of his second year, which meant that the other two colors had to be Potter and Undol themselves. The twin trails of colored light washed around the room, and Severus followed them, being lead down the stairs and out of the house. Petunia slammed the door behind him as Severus left, but he paid her no mind, focusing only of following the twin trails of magic. They lead him down the street and around the small muggle town for nearly fifteen minutes, until they simply stopped. Apparently they had used some means of long distance travel from that point; a portkey or apparition. Severus sighed in defeat, another dead end; Albus wasn't going to be pleased about this development. A glint of light caught Severus' eye, and he turned as a faint scarlet signature emerged from the side alley near where Potter's trail had dried up…

_[1]_ _Mae govannen,_ _Tua_, _Mool : Greetings, Helper, Servant_

_[2] __Ostendo sum veneficus vestigium : reveal magic traces (Latin)_

**_Please Keep up the Reviews!_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Many Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter One! It is always a pleasure and a joy to read your speculations and words of encoragment or advise. Please continue to feed my ever burning muse with your words!**

**Chapter Two**

**Shadows of the Past**

For once in his life, Harry was excited that it was his birthday. He had been awoken by a smiling Faykan and presented with a tray of all his favorite breakfast food, along with a tall glass of pumpkin juice. Faykan told him to just relax and eat while he and the house elves prepared for the rest of the day.

"First thing though, I need to get the other party guest," Faykan added with a grin.

"Who?" Harry asked, his thoughts immediately jumping to Ron or Hermione.

"Draco, of course..." Faykan said as he moved to the fireplace in Harry's room, his sea blue robes dancing across the floor. He grabbed a fistful of Floo powder and with a shout of "Malfoy Manor," and the roar of the green flames, he was gone.

Harry didn't have long to ponder why Faykan was only inviting Draco, because only a few moments after his best friend vanished into the fireplace, Harry heard the rustle of wings and three owls flew into his room. They landed with a soft flump on Harry's bed, and the middle owl, which was large and gray, keeled right over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to its legs. Harry recognized Hedwig immediately, her beautiful white body soaring over to his tray of food and landing with a small clatter of talons to present him with an affectionate nip on the ear and the mail she carried. The other owl, a large tawny one, offered him a letter and package that had the Hogwarts seal upon them. It ruffled its feathers importantly as Harry took them and flew back out the window it had entered through. Harry then finally recognized the unconscious owl; it was Errol, the Weasley family's owl. Hedwig nudged the graying bird until it roused, and finally it maneuvered to deliver its letters to Harry, who took them eagerly.

Harry sat back against the many pillows on his bed and grabbed Errol's package, ripped off the brown paper, and discovered a present wrapped in gold paper, and his first birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out; a letter and a newspaper clipping. The clipping had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper, the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black and white picture were moving. Harry picked up the clipping, smoothed it out, and read:

_**MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE**_

'_Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw._

_A delighted Mr. Weasley told the Daily Prophet, "We will be spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our eldest son, Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank."_

_The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt, returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts, which five of the Weasley children currently attend.'_

Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at him, standing in front of a large pyramid, plump little Mrs. Weasley; tail, balding Mr. Weasley; their six sons; and one daughter, all (though the black and white picture didn't show it) with flaming red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling, with his pet rat, Scabbers, on his shoulder and his arm around his little sister, Ginny.

Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile of gold more than the Weasleys, who were very nice and extremely poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy birthday!_

_It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff._

_I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year._

Harry remembered only too well the occasion when Ron's old wand had snapped. It had happened when the car the two of them and Faykan had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree on the school grounds.

_We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you and Faykan there?_

_Try and come to London,_

_Ron_

_P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week._

Harry glanced back at the photograph. Percy, who was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly smug. He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on top of his neat hair, his horn rimmed glasses flashing in the Egyptian sun.

Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was another note from Ron beneath it.

_Harry, _

_This is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says its rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup._

_Bye,_

_Ron_

Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds, and then picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought.

Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card, and a letter, this time from Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know how I was going to send this to you, what if they'd opened it at customs? But then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to make sure you got something for your birthday. I bought your present by owl order; there was an advertisement in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered; it's so good to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world), did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's learning loads. I'm really jealous; the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating._

_There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've rewritten my whole History of Magic essay to include some of the things I've found out; I hope it's not too long; its two rolls of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for._

_Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the holidays. Can you and Fay make it? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express on September First!_

_Love from Hermione_

_P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased, though Ron doesn't seem too happy about it_

Harry laughed as he put Herrmone's letter aside and picked up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells; but it wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper and saw a shrunken, dragon-hide bound trunk with silver words stamped across it, reading _Harry J. Potter._

"Wow, Hermione!" Harry whispered, unlocking the trunk with a tap of his wand and looking inside. There were multiple compartments, all organized to be opened by any chosen method of the owner's creation, as well as protective charms and locks to keep out others, which Harry was grateful for. Ever since last year he had had trouble trusting that his things might not be rifled through by his housemates when he was away.

Harry put the shrunken trunk aside and picked up his last parcel. He recognized the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He tore off the top layer of paper and glimpsed something green and leathery, but before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly, as though it had jaws.

Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known to befriend giant spiders, buy vicious, three headed dogs from men in pubs, and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin.

Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again. Harry reached for the lamp on his bedside table, gripped it firmly in one hand, and raised it over his head, ready to strike. Then he seized the rest of the wrapping paper in his other hand and pulled. And out fell a book. Harry just had time to register its handsome green cover, emblazoned with the golden title '_The Monster Book of Monsters_,' before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways along the bed like some weird crab.

"Uh oh," Harry muttered.

The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled rapidly across the room. Harry got up and followed it stealthily. The book was hiding in the dark space under the far desk. Harry got down on his hands and knees and reached toward it.

"Ouch!"

The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him, still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw himself forward, and managed to flatten it. Hedwig and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his trunk, and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid's card.

_Dear Harry,_

_Happy Birthday!_

_Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say no more here. Tell you when I see you. Hope the Muggles are treating you right._

_All the best,_

_Hagrid_

It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book would come in useful, but he put Hagrid's card up next to Ron's and Hermione's, grinning more broadly than ever. Now there was only the letter from Hogwarts left. Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within, and read:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Please note that the new school year will begin on September the First. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock._

_Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign._

_A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely,_

_Professor M. McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked at it, no longer grinning. He couldn't exactly go back to Privet drive to just get one permission form signed, if the Dursleys would even do it. They'd probably refuse just to spite him. Harry finally shrugged; he could live without going one year. Next summer he'd get them to sign it, somehow. Sitting back down on his bed, Harry reread all of his birthday cards while polishing off the wonderful breakfast Faykan had brought him, as his mind wandered to what his friend had planned for the rest of this wonderful day.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco sat expectantly in his private parlor, waiting for Faykan to show up to take him so they could plan Harry's birthday. Faykan had owled his father weeks ago to tell him, not ask, Draco noticed, that he was coming on July thirty-first to take Draco to his home for the remainder of the summer holiday, and that they would return in time for school to start. Lucius clearly noticed the lack of a request, but had said nothing about the matter, he being busy with meetings that Draco had not been permitted to attend.

Draco had a sinking feeling that they had something to do with the Death Eaters, and that they might have been planning something terrible for the next year or so, but he was started out of his thoughts by the fireplace flaring into life and Faykan entering his room with the grace of royalty.

"Ready to go Draco?" his friend asked without preamble.

Draco nodded. He had packed the things he was sure to need for the next month, as well as his things for Hogwarts only a day after Faykan's letter had come. Draco crossed the room to join Faykan just as his door opened and his mother came in.

"I thought I heard the floo just now Draco and, oh, Mr. Undol how nice to see you." she said as she noticed Faykan.

"Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy," Faykan said with a flourishing bow, "good to see you again. I have come to take Draco with me for the rest of the summer."

"Of course," Narcissa replied, walking to Draco and straightening his robes. Draco blushed slightly at the display of affection in front of his friend, but Faykan just smiled knowingly, giving them all the time they needed to say their goodbyes. Narcissa double checked that Draco had all his things, told him to behave while in another wizard's house, and finally kissed him on the forehead, giving him a small wrapped package and whispering in his ear, "Give your cousin Harry Potter this for me, my little dragon." Draco nodded and went to stand by Faykan, who offered him a small paper with the name of his house written on it. Draco studied it, allowing the magic of the secret keeper to wash over him, granting him access to the hidden location as Faykan pulled out a portkey; a small black key, and muttered the activation word.

With a final look at his mother, who waved in farewell, Draco felt the distinct pull behind his navel as the portkey sucked him and Faykan through space…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Severus was meeting with Lucius Malfoy and other leading Death Eaters to discuss plans for the Quidditch World Cup finals the following year. Severus was only mildly concerned with the happenings, as he was certain that not only would Dumbledore do little to nothing to stop this, but that there would be little harm that the Death Eaters could inflict before the Ministry swooped it to attempt to arrest anyone. Severus decided that he would simply slip out and go back to Hogwarts, seeing how Nott Sr. was arguing the details of their plan with Lucius, and he had no intentions of participating personally anyway.

Severus left the drawing room and was about to head toward the main entrance when he saw Narcissa Malfoy climbing the stairs to the family bedrooms. He decided that it was only polite to notify the matron of the house of his intended departure.

Climbing after her to the Malfoy family's bedrooms, Severus heard the sound of voices coming from his godson's room. He had pushed the door open just in time to see Undol and Draco being pulled by a portkey, and Narcissa waving farewell to her son.

She turned and jumped slightly as she saw the Potions Master, but recovered herself quickly, "Oh, Severus. I didn't hear you come in."

Severus wasted no time in questioning the Malfoy matriarch about Faykan Undol's presence in her house. Unfortunately, she knew very little, only that he had sent a letter earlier that month saying he would be taking Draco to his home around this time, and that it was most likely under a Fidelius charm, which she explained because of the note Undol had shown Draco right before they had portkeyed away. She also mentioned that she had given a birthday present to Draco to pass along to Potter, assuming that he was also with Undol.

Severus thanked her for her hospitality and honesty concerning the matter, and flooed back to Hogwarts. Instead of remaining in his quarters as he had intended, he decided to immediately go up to the Headmaster's office, knowing that Albus would want to know of this development, even if it wasn't that promising.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry was practicing the sword techniques that Faykan had drilled him on during the past month when Faykan and Draco appeared nearby. Draco landed hard, and had to take a few seconds to steady himself. He then looked up at the tower that was Faykan's house and audibly gasped. The look on his face clearly said that he had never seen anything like the black marble-like structure before him. Harry sheathed _Hadhafang_ as Faykan approached him, allowing Draco to pick his jaw up off the ground and reset his dignity. He finally joined them and together the three boys set back toward the tower.

"Here, Harry," Draco said handing him a small wrapped package. "This is from my mother." Harry took it gratefully, and pulled off the paper to reveal a box of sweets from Honeydukes, the popular candy shop in Hogsmeade.

"Thanks!" Harry said as he bit into one of the many treats the box contained, and closed his eyes, relishing the taste. Faykan tried to steal a small chocolate out of the box, but Harry slapped his hand away. Faykan pouted at that, but cheered up greatly when they all reached the front doors. Throwing them open with a grand flourish, he stepped aside and Harry stared in surprise. The entire main room was decorated with red and gold ribbons, cloths, and balloons. The large throne had an enchanted lion's head mounted over it, which growled and roared occasionally. As the three boys walked in, small rockets zoomed up into the vast vaulted ceiling and exploded, showering them with sparks and forming the words _'Happy 13__th__ Birthday, Harry Potter'_.

Faykan and Draco had to force Harry to sit in the large black throne, and spent the rest of the afternoon treating him like a king, presenting him with the best selections of food and teasing him by referring him as 'your majesty' or 'milord'. They played wizard chess and exploding snap for several hours, both Faykan and Harry losing pitifully to Draco, and by the end they were all significantly singed from the exploding cards. Finally, Dobby and Faykan's two house elves appeared, levitating a huge thirteen layered chocolate cake that the three boys were sure they could never hope to finish.

After they all ate as much as they could until they felt fit to burst, Faykan pulled out a large leather bound book and handed it to Harry, explaining that it was a book about the language of the elves, and how to learn to read and write in it. Draco also gave him a watch that worked underwater, glowed in the dark, and could point to true north when the command word was spoken. Afterward they had lounged on the balcony near their three rooms (a new one had magically formed right next to Harry's for Draco) and Harry read from his new language book with Draco while Faykan smoked from a clay pipe, sending large smoke rings drifting out over the forest. Harry found it odd that his friend smoked at such a young age, but Faykan simply shrugged and said it was something he had always wanted to try. When the sun had finally set below the horizon, the three boys agreed that it was time to turn in. They all disappeared into their individual rooms, and Harry tried to settle down to sleep, but had some difficulty because of the excitement of the day. He was finally lulled to sleep by music that drifted from Faykan's room across the hall, which soothed Harry's mind and relaxed his body until he simply drifted off.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco was exceedingly impressed not only with how Harry's party had gone, but with Faykan's house in general. The artifacts that he had decorating the walls of his many rooms were both fascinating and beautiful. Suits of armor, weapons, and banners from long dead kingdoms and cultures were among the many exotic possessions that drew Draco's attention. But the one thing that seemed to call to him was the strange spherical item in the main room; the cloth covered object on the small pedestal. It seemed to speak to him when he was near it, and during the night Draco could almost hear his name being whispered from rooms far below.

During the day, Faykan kept both Draco and Harry exceedingly busy either practicing horseback riding, sword fighting, dueling, or just strolling through the forest surrounding the tower. Draco had grown quite proficient at the stunning spell, while Harry tended to favor the disarming charm. Faykan paired them against each other for the most part, jumping in himself only to offer specific instruction to either of them or to correct their movements. Draco had borrowed an elven blade to practice against Harry and his weapon as well. Draco also noticed that his two friends seemed to grow significantly taller during their months stay at Faykan's home. When he arrived Faykan seemed to be only slightly taller than Harry, even though both boys were shorter than him by at least two inches, but by the second to last week of the holidays, Harry was almost as tall as Draco, with Faykan trailing behind him by a half inch.

The night before they had planned to go get their things at Diagon Alley, Faykan was reading to them from a book he named '_Quenta Silmarillion_.' He was just reading about the awakening of elves under the stars long before the creation of the sun and moon, when there was a loud bellowing groan from the forest below them. Faykan leapt up, wand in hand, the book forgotten in the chair behind him. Within seconds he had reached the door and peered out into the gloom of night.

"Stay here, I'll be back soon," he said turning to Draco and Harry, before storming out and closing the door behind him.

Draco blinked at Harry for several seconds before speaking, "Wonder what that was about?"

Harry just shrugged before picking up his book about the language of the elves. Draco tried to read also, but something was pulling his attention to the center of the room, where the strange orb-shaped object sat. Draco tried to ignore the whispers, but after several minutes of the subtle tugs he finally stood and walked towards the plinth. As he approached, Harry turned to watch him but his friend said nothing. Draco ran a hand over the cloth covering the sphere, gently pulling it away, revealing a blackish stone, perfectly round and glass-like. Within the stone were swirling grayish clouds and shapeless lights.

Harry got up; his eyes drawn to the stone just as Draco reached out a hand to touch it.

"Draco…" Harry said but he stopped, unable to voice anything. The stone was warm in Draco's hand, almost as if it was gladdened that he was touching it.

Suddenly the flames of the braziers dimmed, casting the room into near total darkness. The clouds within the stone slowed and vanished from sight, replaced by images and scenes that neither Draco nor Harry could explain. They saw five figures, disembarking from a pure white ship. They were all old men; bearded and carrying staffs. Two wore blue robes, one a dull brown color, another wore grey, and the last who was in the forefront wore robes of shimmering white. Their eyes were the most piercing colors that Draco could ever remember seeing and they radiated power and majesty as they walked.

As suddenly as the image appeared, it changed. The two blue-robed men were riding horses through a strange forest, their staves in one hand, and bows strapped to their backs. Then it changed to the brown-robed man sitting in a large building, speaking to a large eagle before it took off into the sky. Then they saw the white robed man speaking to a group of men wearing ragged hides. The images whirled faster and faster, and soon Draco and Harry could only see glimpses of things before they changed into something else.

Finally the scene focused onto the old grey-robed man as he led a group of eight strange people through dark tunnels. Four of the strangers were small, only around three feet tall, another was only slightly taller, and Draco recognized him as a dwarf from last Valentine's Day and Lockhart's ridicules celebration, but this one was far older and nobler looking. Two were older men, though not nearly as old as the grey clad leader. And the last, the last was a person more beautiful than Draco could describe any being he had ever laid eyes on. The male figure was slender yet strong-looking. He had bright eyes and long silver-white hair very similar to Draco's own, and his ears were pointed. He was clearly an elf, one of the ones that Faykan had mentioned quite often.

Suddenly the group of nine started running. Many dark shapes appeared behind them and began pursuing them through the winding tunnels. They entered a large hall, and fire surged up behind them. And finally, the old man spoke, his voice ringing through the chamber as Harry and Draco watched. The language was strange, but both boys had no difficultly understanding.

"_Look ahead! The Bridge is near. Be careful, for it is dangerous and narrow."_

The figures were running towards a large black chasm. Their only means of crossing was a long slender bridge that jutted across it, only wide enough for them to cross one at a time. The old man stopped at the near side of the bridge and ushered the others before him, constantly glancing back with fear at the way they had come. Arrows were flying toward them from the darkness, striking one of the small people and bouncing off them. The fire far behind seemed to be cutting off their pursuers, strange creatures with slanted eyes and blackish skin covered in dark iron armor and carrying large bows and cruel-looking scimitars.

The elf man turned to fire an arrow back at the dark creatures in retaliation, but cried out in dismay and fear. Two giant shapes, trolls, Draco recognized, were setting large slabs of stone across the fire, and the sea of smaller evil creatures had parted in fear as something large and shadowy, man-like in shape but greater, full of power and terror that even Draco could feel it through the vision, moved to the edge of the wall of fire. Then with a rush it leaped across the fissure. The flames roared up to greet it, and wreathed about it; and a black smoke swirled in the air. In its right hand was a blade made of fire; in its left it held a whip of many thongs.

"_Ai! Ai! A Balrog! A Balrog is come!" _the elf cried in horror.

The dwarf stare with wide eyes at the darn creature as his axe fell to the stone floor, _"Durin's Bane!"_ he cried, covering his face.

The old man in grey faltered, and leaned heavily on his staff, _"A Balrog, now I understand. What an evil fortune, and I am already weary."_

The dark figure streaming with fire raced towards them. The smaller creatures yelled and poured over the stone gangways behind it. Then one of the younger men raised a horn and blew. The challenge rang loud and bellowed, like the shout of many throats under the cavernous roof. For a moment the small creatures quailed and the fiery shadow halted. Then the echoes died as suddenly as it sounded, and the creatures advanced again.

"_Over the bridge!" _the old man cried _"Fly! This is a foe beyond any of you. I must hold the narrow way. Fly!"_

But none of the others heeded his commands, waiting on the far side of the bridge to watch him face the mass of creatures alone.

The Balrog reached the bridge first. The old man stood in the middle of the span, leaning on the staff in his left hand, but in his other hand a shining silver sword gleamed, cold and white. Draco recognized it as Faykan's sword _Glamdring._ His enemy halted again, facing him, and the shadow about it reached out like two vast wings. It raised the whip, and the thongs whined and cracked. Fire came from its nostrils. But the man stood firm.

"_You cannot pass," _he said firmly. The small creatures stood still, and a dead silence fell. _"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."_

The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still the man could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.

A red sword leaped out, flaming, from out of the shadow. _Glamdring_ glittered white in answer. There was a ringing clash and a stab of white fire. The Balrog fell back and its sword flew up in molten fragments. The old man swayed on the bridge, stepped back a pace, and then again stood still.

"_You cannot pass!"_ he repeated, his voice booming off the far walls of the cavern.

With a bound the Balrog leaped full upon the bridge. Its whip whirled and hissed.

"_He cannot stand alone!"_ cried one of the younger men suddenly, and ran back along the bridge. _"Elendil!"_ he shouted. _"I am with you, Gandalf!"_

"_Gondor!"_ cried the other man as he leaped after him.

At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud, _"You shall not pass," _he smote the bridge before him. The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked and broke right at the Balrog's feet, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf, while the rest remained, poised, jutting out into emptiness.

With a terrible cry the Balrog fell forward, and its shadow plunged down and vanished. But even as it fell it swung its whip, and the thongs lashed and curled about Gandalf's knees, dragging him to the brink. He staggered, fell, grasped vainly at the stone, and slid into the abyss. _"Fly, you fools!"_ he cried, and was gone.

The stone went black afterward, and the lights from the braziers returned. They weren't as bright as before, seemingly lessened after what they had seen. Draco started as a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. Faykan was staring into his eyes, worry and excitement gleaming in his, "What did you see?"

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	4. Chapter 3

**More Reviews! the more pressure you put up, the more im able to write and i might be able to post faster. **

**Chapter Three**

**Darkness on the Hogwarts Express**

Faykan released Draco and recovered the black orb with its cloth, hiding away the swirling smoke and its taunting presence. "What did you see?" he repeated as he faced them. Harry was far too lost to answer, unsure as to what they had indeed witnessed in the stone's depths to describe it. Therefore it was down to Draco to explain the strange visions they had perceived, beginning with the five strange old men, and ending with Gandalf combating the Balrog in the dark cave. Faykan sat on his throne chair in silence as Draco spoke, not interrupting or questioning, but neither explaining anything.

Finally after Draco had completely finished, Faykan leaned back with a sigh and finally spoke again, "So you heard the call of the _Palantír _of_ Elendil_ the entire time you were here Draco?" Draco nodded and Faykan tried to hide a small smile, but Harry saw it. He watched as his friend explained the more vivid visions they had witnessed, that the five old men were the mighty Istari who had come during the Third Age to guide the inhabitants of _Arda_; Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown, Alatar the Azure, and Pallando the Cyan.

"But," Harry finally asked, "Why did we see these things in that stone? I don't understand…" Faykan sighed again at Harry's question. "Neither do I. Exciting isn't it though, but I cannot say for certain. Perhaps lingering magic from thousands of years ago when Saruman dwelt in this valley, but I'm not so sure." Harry gasped; one of those powerful men had lived here, in this very tower.

Faykan finally persuaded both Harry and Draco to go to bed, as they were going to be out all day tomorrow at Diagon alley, therefore they needed their rest. As Harry closed the door to his room, he could see Faykan settling down on the balcony with his clay pipe again, drawing deeply from the burning herbs in it and staring out over the forest with a far away look that Harry was so familiar with.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Diagon Alley was as fascinating as always. Draco had many favored memories of the many shops from when he was little with his parents, but being here with just his friends was even more exciting. After filling their coin purses with gold at Gringotts, the three friends set off down the street. Draco had to drag Harry and Faykan over to _Quality Quidditch Supplies_ in order to investigate a gathered crowd.

"Just come out, prototype…" a square jawed wizard was telling his companion.

"It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it, Dad?" squeaked a boy younger than Draco, who was swinging off his father's arm.

"Irish International Side's just put in an order for seven of these beauties!" the proprietor of the shop told the crowd. "And they're favorites for the World Cup!"

Draco pushed past a few people and made room for Faykan and Harry so they could read the sign next to the new broom:

_**THE FIREBOLT**_

_THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART PACING BROOM SPORTS_

_A STREAM-LINED, SUPERFINE HANDLE OF ASH,_

_TREATED WITH A DIAMOND-HARD POLISH AND_

_HAND- NUMBERED WITH ITS OWN REGISTRATION NUMBER._

_EACH INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED BIRCH TWIG_

_IN THE BROOMTAIL HAS BEEN HONED TO AERODYNAMIC_

_PERFECTION, GIVING THE FIREBOLT UNSURPASSABLE_

_BALANCE AND PINPOINT PRECISION._

_THE FIREBOLT HAS_

_AN ACCELERATION OF 150 MILES AN HOUR IN TEN SECONDS AND_

_INCORPORATES AN_

_UNBREAKABLE BRAKING CHARM._

_PRICE ON REQUEST._

Draco winced when he read '_Price on request_,' not wanting to know how much damage the broom could do to a bank vault. He was sure that his father would never purchase the Firebolt for him. Looking to his friends, Draco could see the same look of desire on Harry, but he really didn't need the new prototype. He was far better than any other Seeker in Hogwarts on just his Nimbus Two-thousand, including Draco himself. Faykan looked disinterested, as he had never really been into Quidditch as much as Harry, Draco, or Ron. Draco managed to stare longingly at the broom for a few more moments before Faykan pulled him and Harry out of the crowd by their collars, saying that they really needed to get their purchases done and meet up with Ron and Hermione.

Together, they went and replenished their potions ingredients and purchased new school robes, especially important for Harry and Faykan given their recent growth spurts. Draco mentioned that they should acquire some dress robes, because his father would be inviting them to the Malfoy Yuletide celebration over the Christmas holiday. Most important was their need to buy their new books, including the ones for their new subjects. Draco had chosen Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures, and he knew that Harry and Faykan had both taken Divination.

After acquiring their books - the manager had practically cried after Faykan said that he and Draco needed copies of _The Monster Book of Monsters_, and Harry had to be pulled away from a book about death omens - they then went down to _Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor_ for a break from shopping where they ran into Ron and Hermione sitting outside, and they joined their friends and ordered large ice creams for the five of them.

"Look at this," said Ron, pulling a long, thin box out of a bag and opening it. "Brand new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail hair. And we've got all our books…" He pointed at a large bag under his chair. "What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two." They all laughed, except Hermione, who was looking through her extra bags of books. Harry asked her about it, and she explained that she had more books because she was taking all of the extra subjects that year.

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" asked Harry, while Ron and Faykan sniggered. Hermione ignored them.

"I've still got ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice _book_?" said Ron innocently.

"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly. "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, Faykan has his raven, and you've got Errol…"

"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers."

He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked over," he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. "I don't think Egypt agreed with him."

Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop to his whiskers.

"There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Draco, who knew Diagon Alley very well. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl."

So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street to the Magical Menagerie.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

He had been stuck in this pet shop for so long; he was weary of waiting for someone to bond with. The woman who owned the building didn't like him, he knew it, but she could not get rid of him. She would throw him out every other week, and he would find a way back inside.

The bell chimed, signaling the door opening. 'Perhaps today is the day at last?' he dared to hope. Three boys, nothing special about them, two were bonded to familiars already. The girl was interesting, she was unbonded at the moment, but she was eyeing the owls. The fourth boy was odd; he was not what he appeared to be. He smelled old, very old, and full of memory and wisdom, but alas, he was bonded to a bird as well. The red haired boy pulled a rat out and place it on the desk, wait, it was no rat… it was a man, a man in hiding and full of fear… he sniffed again, he smelled the scent of fear mixed with… _betrayal_. The rat man was dangerous, he must act! He leaped, diving on top of the red boys head, spitting and clawing at the rat man, defending these children from the betrayer.

"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" cried the owner witch, but the rat man shot from between her hands, landed on the floor, and then scampered for the door. The boys ran after the rat. But he was dangerous, foolish humans! Crookshanks started to race after the rat, but the girl had lifted him into her arms…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

It took them nearly ten minutes to catch Scabbers, who had taken refuge under a wastepaper bin outside _Quality Quidditch Supplies_. Ron stuffed the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging his head. They made their way back up the crowded street to the _Magical Menagerie_. As they reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn't carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous ginger cat.

"You bought that monster?" said Ron, his mouth hanging open.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing.

That was a matter of opinion, thought Harry. The cat's ginger fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. Now that Scabbers was out of sight, however, the cat was purring contentedly in Hermione's arms.

"Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!" said Ron.

"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione.

"And what about Scabbers?" Ron whined, pointing at the lump in his chest pocket. "He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?"

"That reminds me, you forgot your rat tonic," said Hermione, slapping the small red bottle into Ron's hand. "And stop worrying, Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him."

"Wonder why," Ron mumbled sarcastically as they set off toward the Leaky Cauldron.

Harry saw Faykan eyeing the cat curiously. Draco was simply shaking his head at Hermione and Ron's argument. The rest of the Weasleys were waiting inside the pub as the five third years entered. Faykan went to get a room for himself, Harry, and Draco while Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, and Percy talked with the others. They mainly discussed Percy being Head Boy, or the Ministry cars they would be taking to Kings Cross the next day. Harry noticed that Ginny seemed less embarrassed about being so close to him, probably because she was too busy stealing glances at a certain young, blonde aristocrat. Mr. Weasley wouldn't explain why the ministry was providing the cars, and Harry was worried that it might have something to do with Sirius Black.

His suspicions were later confirmed when he went downstairs after dinner to pick up one of Draco's books that he had left out. Harry was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when he heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlor. A second later, he recognized them as Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys'. He hesitated, not wanting them to know he'd heard them arguing, when the sound of his own name made him stop, then move closer to the parlor door.

"…makes no sense not to tell him," Mr. Weasley was saying heatedly.

"Harry's got a right to know. I've tried to tell Dumbledore, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. He's thirteen years old and…"

"Arthur, the truth would terrify him!" said Mrs. Weasley shrilly. "Do you really want to send Harry back to school with that hanging over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing!"

"I don't want to make him miserable; I want to put him on his guard!" retorted Mr. Weasley. "You know what Harry, Ron, and their friends are like, wandering off by themselves; they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice! But Harry mustn't do that this year! When I think what could have happened to him that night Faykan took him away from home! We all thought Black had gotten him until Dumbledore said he was safely hidden away with his friend. But Dumbledore was angry Molly; he clearly didn't like the idea of Harry being away from his relatives with Black on the loose, he tried so hard to keep it out of the papers that Harry has disappeared…

"But he's not dead, he's fine, so what's the point…"

"Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him. I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black's after…"

"But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts."

"We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts."

"But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry…"

There was a thud on wood, and Harry was sure Mr. Weasley had banged his fist on the table.

"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Black's been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: _'He's at Hogwarts... he's at Hogwarts.'_ Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that..."

There was a silence. Harry leaned still closer to the door, desperate to hear more.

"Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?"

"Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed."

"Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?"

"Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards," said Mr. Weasley heavily.

"Nor am I, if it comes to that... but when you're dealing with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid."

"If they save Harry then I will never say another word against them," said Mr. Weasley wearily. "It's late, Molly, we'd better go up..."

So Sirius Black was after him. And the Ministry was sending two cars to take them all to the station tomorrow, so that the Weasleys could look after Harry until he was on the train. They were also posting guards around Hogwarts just to keep him safe. Harry returned and placed the book on Draco's trunk, as the boy was already asleep in one of the three beds in their room, as there had only been one available. He glanced at Faykan's still form, curled on his side as he slept. Unbidden, the image of the giant dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent crossed his mind and the Grim that he had seen on the book in Flourish and Blotts. _'What to do when you know the worst is coming...'_

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

The journey to King's Cross was very uneventful. Harry was comfortably seated in the back of one car with Ron, Hermione, and Faykan. The Ministry of Magic's cars seemed almost ordinary, though Harry noticed that they could slide through gaps that any other muggle car wouldn't have managed. They reached King's Cross with twenty minutes to spare. The Ministry drivers found them trolleys, unloaded their trunks, touched their hats in salute to Mr. Weasley, and drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of an unmoving line at the traffic lights.

Mr. Weasley kept close to Harry's elbow all the way into the station.

"Right then," he said, glancing around them. "Let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go through first with Harry."

Mr. Weasley strolled toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, pushing Harry's trolley and apparently very interested in the Intercity 125 that had just arrived at platform nine. With a meaningful look at Harry, he leaned casually against the barrier. Harry imitated him. In a moment, they had fallen sideways through the solid metal onto platform nine and three quarters and looked up to see the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine, puffing smoke over a platform packed with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train.

Faykan and Draco appeared behind them, later followed by Ron and Ginny, Hermione and Percy, Fred and George, and finally Mrs. Weasley.

"Ah, there's Penelope!" said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink again. Ron caught Harry's eye, and they both turned away to hide their laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrust out so that she couldn't miss his shiny badge. After loading their trunks and animals onto the train, they stepped off again to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Harry was embarrassed when Mrs. Weasley hugged him, but it still was pleasant. Mr. Weasley pulled him aside to request (beg) Harry to, of all the strange things, not go looking for Black. Harry was very confused, why would he want to look for someone who wanted to kill him? Finally he agreed just so he could get on the train as it left the station. Ron had to throw open one of the doors for Harry to jump in. They leaned out of the window and waved at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley until the train turned a corner and blocked them from view.

"I need to talk to you in private," Harry muttered to Ron, Faykan and Hermione as the train picked up speed. Draco was gone, presumable sitting with some of the Slytherins to keep up his appearances.

"Go away, Ginny," said Ron.

"Oh, that's nice," said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.

Harry, Ron, Faykan and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the very end of the train.

This had only one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to the window. Harry, Ron, and Hermione checked on the threshold. The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food cart.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats farthest away from the window.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once.

"How d'you know that?" Ron said turning to Harry, "How does she always know these things?"

"It's on his case, Ron." Faykan said, pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name '_Professor R. J. Lupin_' was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Wonder what he teaches?" said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile.

"That's obvious," whispered Hermione. "There's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Well, I hope he's up to it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway..." He turned to Harry. "What were you going to tell us?"

Harry explained all about Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's argument and the warning Mr. Weasley had just given him. When he'd finished, Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands over her mouth. She finally lowered them to say, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry... you'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry…"

"I don't go looking for trouble," said Harry, stung. "Trouble usually finds me."

"How thick would Harry have to be to go looking for a nutter who wants to kill him?" said Ron shakily.

They were both taking the news worse than Harry had expected. Both Ron and Hermione seemed to be much more frightened of Black than he or Faykan was.

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban," said Ron uncomfortably. "No one's ever done it before. And he was a top security prisoner too."

"But they'll catch him, won't they?" said Hermione earnestly.

"I'm going to tell you two what I told Harry over the summer," Faykan said slowly, "Black might not have been as guilty as the Ministry is leading everyone to believe. They never gave him a trial after all, and its rather fishy the circumstances around which he was taken to Azkaban in the first place. Just don't completely assume that he actually is coming for Harry."

"What's that noise?" said Ron suddenly.

A faint, tinny sort of whistle was coming from somewhere. They looked all around the compartment.

"It's coming from your trunk, Harry," said Ron, standing up and reaching into the luggage rack. A moment later he had pulled the Pocket Sneakoscope out from between Harry's robes. It was spinning very fast in the palm of Ron's hand and glowing brilliantly.

"Is that a Sneakoscope?" said Hermione interestedly, standing up for a better look.

"Yeah... mind you, it's a very cheap one," Ron said. "It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry."

"Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?" said Hermione shrewdly.

"No! Well... I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's not really up to long journeys... but how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?"

"Stick it back in the trunk," Harry advised as the Sneakoscope whistled piercingly, "or it'll wake him up."

He nodded toward Professor Lupin. Ron stuffed the Sneakoscope into a pair of old socks, which deadened the sound, then closed the lid of the trunk on it.

"We could get it checked in Hogsmeade," said Ron, sitting back down. "They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me."

"Do you know much about Hogsmeade?" asked Hermione keenly. "I've read it's the only entirely non Muggle settlement in Britain…"

"Yeah, I think it is," said Ron in an offhand sort of way.

"But that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes."

"What's that?" said Hermione.

"It's this sweetshop," said Ron, a dreamy look coming over his face, "where they've got everything... Pepper Imps; they make you smoke at the mouth, and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next…"

"But Hogsmeade's a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione pressed on eagerly. "In Sites of Historical Sorcery it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain…"

"…and massive sherbert balls that make you levitate a few inches off the ground while you're sucking them," said Ron, who was plainly not listening to a word Hermione was saying.

Hermione looked around at Harry.

"Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore Hogsmeade?"

"'Spect it will," said Harry heavily. "You'll have to tell me when you've found out."

"What d'you mean?" said Ron.

"I can't go, I didn't get the permission form until I was at Faykan's house, and then it was too late to get the Dursleys to sign it."

Ron looked horrified, but Faykan laughed, "Good thing I made them sign a copy when I picked you up then isn't it?"

Harry grinned, but before anyone could say anything the compartment door opened, and Theodore Nott barged in, "Well, look who it is, Potty and his little buddies," he drawled.

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer, Weasel," Nott continued. "Did your mother die of shock?"

Ron stood up so quickly he knocked Crookshanks' basket to the floor. Professor Lupin gave a snort.

"Careful Nott, we've got a teacher in this compartment," Faykan said with a sly grin. Nott glared at him, and Harry followed his eyes as they darted from Faykan to Harry and back. "C'mon," he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappeared, Nott sending a final glare at Faykan before disappearing.

Ron sat down slowly, fingering his new wand. "I can't wait to try this wand out on Nott this year. If he or any other Slytherin makes one more crack about my family I'm going to give them the hexing of their lifetimes."

"Ron," hissed Hermione, pointing at Professor Lupin, "be careful..."

But Professor Lupin was still fast asleep.

The rain thickened as the train sped farther north; the windows were now a solid, shimmering gray, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the engine roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept.

"We must be nearly there," said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window.

The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down

"Great," said Ron, getting up and walking carefully past Professor Lupin to try and see outside. "I'm starving. I want to get to the feast…"

"We can't be there yet," said Hermione, checking her watch.

"So why're we stopping?" asked Harry.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows.

Harry, who was nearest the door got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of their compartments.

The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness.

"'What's going on?" said Ron's voice from behind Harry.

"Ouch!" gasped Hermione. "Ron, that was my foot!"

Harry felt his way back to his seat.

"D'you think we've broken down?"

"Dunno..."

There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out.

"There's something moving out there," Ron said. "I think people are coming aboard..."

Harry heard Faykan gasp in sudden pain, but before he could light his wand to try and help, the compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over Harry's legs.

"Sorry… d'you know what's going on? Ouch! Sorry."

"Hullo, Neville," said Harry, feeling around in the dark and pulling Neville up by his cloak.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea, sit down…"

Faykan shouted again at the same time as Neville tried to sit on Crookshanks. There was a thud as someone fell off their seat onto the floor and Faykan began to moan in agony.

"Faykan?" Harry said getting off his seat and feeling around for his friend. The door slid open again, and someone tripped over Harry with a squeal of pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's that?"

"Ginny?"

"Harry?"

"What are you doing?"

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly.

Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last by all the noise. Harry could hear movements in his corner.

None of them spoke but Faykan, still on the floor, had started to scream in anguish.

There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alert and wary. Lupin knelt near Faykan's head and in the light revealed that he was curled on the floor, grasping desperately at his chest and shaking madly. His screams started increasing in pitch as Professor Lupin tried to remove his hand to look at what was paining him.

And then the compartment door slid slowly open.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Faykan's screams became even more sharp and piercing and he started to thrash on the floor. Harry's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water…

But it was visible only for a split second. Faykan screamed something in elvish that Harry couldn't understand, _"Ai Elbereth!"[1*]_ The hand was suddenly withdrawn into the folds of its black cloak and the creature reared back slightly.

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings.

An intense cold swept over them all. Harry felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart...

Harry's eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn't see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downward, the roaring growing louder...

And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams, but they weren't coming from Faykan. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but couldn't... a thick white fog was swirling around him, inside him…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

"Harry! Harry! Are you all right?"

Someone was slapping his face.

"W-what?"

Harry opened his eyes; there were lanterns above him, and the floor was shaking. The Hogwarts Express was moving again and the lights had come back on. He seemed to have slid out of his seat onto the floor. Ron and Hermione were kneeling next to him, and above them he could see Neville and Professor Lupin watching. Faykan was lying on the seat vacated by Professor Lupin, wide eyed and still shaking badly. Harry felt very sick; when he put up his hand to push his glasses back on, he felt cold sweat on his face.

Ron and Hermione heaved him back onto his seat.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly toward the door. The hooded creature had vanished. "What happened? Where's that, that thing? Who screamed?"

"No one screamed, other than Faykan," said Ron, more nervously still.

Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville looked back at him, both very pale.

"But I heard screaming…"

A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

"Here," he said to Harry, handing him and Faykan particularly large pieces. "Eat it. It'll help."

Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it.

"What was that thing?" he asked Lupin.

"A dementor," said Lupin, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else, "one of the dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.

"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me...

He strolled past Harry and disappeared into the corridor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, watching Harry anxiously.

"I don't get it... What happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off his face.

"We thought you might have been having a fit, just like Faykan was, but not nearly as severe," Ron said, still looking very scared.

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away... "

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again..."

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry felt, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

Professor Lupin had come back. He paused as he entered, looked around, and said, with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know..."

Harry took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you all right, Harry?"

Harry didn't ask how Professor Lupin knew his name.

"Fine," he muttered, and the Professor turned and started to coax Faykan into eating his chocolate. Slowly Faykan started to nibble it, and Professor Lupin pushed him to lie flat on the seat, moving Neville and Ginny to stand to the side. "I'm going to lift your shirt so I can see what you were trying desperately to grab, alright?" he said in a calm soothing voice. Faykan nodded slightly, but his eyes were unfocused and dim. Professor Lupin then lifted his shirt, and Harry gasped; there was a small scar in the shape of a line on Faykan's chest. It was swollen an angry shade of red and looked like it was infected or inflamed. Lupin ran a finger down the side of it and Faykan moaned in pain again, rolling to get away from the probing fingers.

"Its just inflamed and irritated, it should die down in an hour or two." Lupin said finally, standing again. "If it doesn't I want you to see Madam Pomfrey immediately, understand?" Faykan nodded again, and Harry could see his eyes coming back into focus although they looked far deeper then usual, and filled with grief.

_[1] Ai Elbereth: oh star-queen_

_* Elbereth is queen of the Valar, wife of Manwë_

**_PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Many Thanks to all those who Reviewed Chapter Three! Please keep up the wonderful comments.**

**Chapter Four**

**School back in Session**

At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets. Harry and Ron had to half carry Faykan as he was still shaking with pain, and it reminded Harry painfully of their arrival last year.

"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified looking new students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.

"All right, you four?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd. They had no chance to speak to him because the mass of people around them were shunting them away along the platform. They slowly followed the rest of the school out onto a rough, mud track where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students. Faykan kept looking toward where a horse would have been placed to pull the carriage, but Harry was too focused on making sure his friend didn't fall, as he was still seemed very weak. Harry could only assume that they were pulled by an invisible horse, because when they climbed inside and shut the door, the coach set off all by itself bumping and swaying in procession.

The coach smelled faintly of mold and straw. Harry felt better since the chocolate, but still slightly feeble. Ron and Hermione kept looking at Faykan and him sideways, as though frightened one or the other might collapse again.

As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars, Harry saw two more towering, hooded dementors standing guard on either side. Faykan started to moan loudly in pain again. He almost fell forward in his seat, but Ron caught him while Harry tried to make him more comfortable, running a hand across Faykan's back to try and relax the shuddering boy. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf Harry again; he finally leaned back into the lumpy seat and closed his eyes until they had passed the gates. The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the castle; Hermione was leaning out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and towers draw nearer. At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and Hermione and Ron got out. Harry helped lower Faykan and then stepped down himself in time to hear a drawling, delighted voice calling from one of the other carriages.

"Was that you Undol, screaming your head off on the train like you were being gutted?"

Nott elbowed past Hermione to block Ron and Harry, who were still supporting Faykan up the stone steps of the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting maliciously.

"Shove off, Nott." said Ron, whose jaw was clenched.

"Did you have a fit too Potter?" Nott continued loudly, ignoring Ron, "Was Longbottom telling the truth when he said you both fainted when the scary, old dementor came on board?"

"Is there a problem?" said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage.

Nott gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, "Oh, no… err, Professor," then he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and led them up the steps into the castle.

Hermione prodded Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the four of them joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, and into the cavernous entrance hall. It was lit with flaming torches, and housed a magnificent marble staircase that led to the upper floors.

The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Harry followed the crowd toward it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice called, "Potter! Undol! Granger! I want to see you three!"

Harry and Hermione turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. Harry fought his way over to her, with Ron holding Faykan up with an arm around his neck. Harry had a feeling of foreboding; Professor McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something wrong.

"There's no need to look so worried, I just want a word in my office," she told them. "Move along there, Weasley."

Ron let Harry take Faykan's weight and stared as Professor McGonagall ushered the other three away from the chattering crowd; they accompanied her across the entrance hall, up the marble staircase, and along a corridor.

Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor McGonagall motioned them to sit down. She settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you and Mr. Undol were taken ill on the train, Potter."

Before Harry could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in.

Harry felt himself going red in the face. It was bad enough that he'd passed out, or whatever he had done, without everyone making all this fuss.

"I'm fine," he said, "I don't need anything, Faykan is the one who needs to be looked at, not me!"

"Oh, it's you two, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring this and bending down to stare closely at him. "I suppose you've both been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.

They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.

"Setting dementors around a school," she muttered, pushing back Harry's hair and feeling his forehead. "They won't be the last ones who collapse. Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate…"

"I'm not delicate!" said Harry crossly.

"Of course you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absentmindedly, now checking Faykan, who looked close to collapsing again.

"What does he need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply, looking toward Faykan. "Bed rest? Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"

"At the least, they should all have some chocolate, but in Mr. Undol's case… I've never seen such a bad reaction… Oh my!" she had lifted his shirt to expose the terrible red wound, if anything it looked like it had gotten worse since the train.

"This boy needs to go to the hospital wing, immediately," Madam Pomfrey said, conjuring a stretcher, and then passing some chocolate to Harry and Hermione, "Here, you need to eat this."

"I've already had some," said Harry. "Professor Lupin gave me some. He gave it to all of us."

"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"

She bustled out, pushing the now floating stretcher ahead of her.

"Are you sure you feel all right, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

"Yes," Harry replied firmly.

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together."

Harry went back into the corridor with Madam Pomfrey, who left for the hospital wing, muttering to herself as she guided Faykan's stretcher. He had to wait only a few minutes; then Hermione emerged looking very happy about something, followed by Professor McGonagall. The three of them made their way back down the marble staircase to the Great Hall.

It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of candles floating over the tables in mid-air. Professor Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was carrying an ancient hat and a three legged stool out of the hall.

"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting!"

Professor McGonagall strode off toward her empty seat at the staff table, while Harry and Hermione set off in the other direction, as quietly as possible, toward the Gryffindor table. People looked around at them as they passed along the back of the hall, and a few of them pointed at Harry. Had the story of his collapsing in front of the dementor traveled that fast?

He and Hermione sat down on either side of Ron, who had saved them seats.

"What was all that about? And where's Faykan?" he muttered to Harry.

Harry started to explain in a whisper, but at that moment the headmaster stood up to speak, and he broke off.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had said about Dumbledore not being happy with the dementors guarding the school.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises… or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, and Harry and Ron glanced at each other. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he said.

Percy, who was sitting a few seats down from Harry, puffed out his chest again and stared around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year."

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard, Harry among them. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

"Look at Snape!" Ron hissed in Harry's ear.

Professor Snape, the Potions master, was staring along the staff table at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape wanted the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, but even Harry was startled at the expression twisting his thin, sallow face. It was beyond anger; it was loathing. Harry knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Faykan and sometimes Harry.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared at one another, stunned. Then they joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular. Harry leaned forward to see Hagrid, who was ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.

"We should've known!" Ron roared, pounding the table. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the last to stop clapping, and as Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that Hagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

At long last, when the last morsels of pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them all to go to bed. The students started to file away up to their common rooms, chatting amongst themselves, already getting back into the spirit if Hogwarts.

Severus started to get up, ready to set off to his own quarters when he caught Albus' eye. He waited while the rest of the students and teacher cleared away until finally it was just him, Albus, Minerva, and unfortunately, Lupin.

"Now, Professor Lupin, please inform us as to what actually occurred on the train concerning Mr. Undol and the dementor." Albus said as he led them all up to the Hospital Wing. Lupin finished recounting what had happened as they entered, and they saw that Poppy had her hands full trying to just get the boy to lie still. Undol was on top of one of the beds furthest from the door, bare-chested and crying out every time Poppy tried to inspect the hideous gash on his chest, thrashing around deliriously.

She turned as the group of teachers arrived, and Severus went to help her hold the boy down, grabbing his arms while Lupin took his legs to prevent him from kicking. "I haven't seen anything like it headmaster," she said worriedly, "it appears to just be a simple stab wound, but the way it keeps inflaming… I couldn't get the poor boy to let me look at it properly, he's just in too much pain, even after a pain relief potion."

"Did you try dreamless sleep Poppy?" Severus asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"He is asleep Severus." She replied, looking even more worried, "Whatever caused that injury, it was very powerful and very dark. I doubt anyone could completely heal that wound Albus."

The old headmaster wasn't listening however; he was studying Undol's face. Slowly he walked up and opened one of the boy's eyes, revealing the blue orb that had now lost its piercing radiance, darkened over with pain, despair and… Severus raised an eyebrow, did he see remorse in the boy's dilated eyes. Surely not…

"Marvelous thing memories…" Albus said, ignoring the ragged sounds of the boy's breathing, as he had long since stopped trying to convulse ever since Poppy stopped trying to touch the wound. He was lying almost peacefully on the bed, occasionally shivering from the cold of the room, "I think, that whatever caused this much pain to young Mr. Undol, placed a curse upon the wound that returns that torment whenever the memory is stirred."

Minerva gasped; "Surely you don't mean to say that the boy's memory is causing that much residual pain?" she choked.

"That is exactly what I think. Dementors are powerful dark creatures, living off all the worst memories that people possess, and thereby forcing those memories to the forefront of our minds…"

"So what can we do about this?" Severus finally asked what was on all of their minds.

"Nothing…" Albus said sorrowfully, "we can only try and keep Mr. Undol away from the dementors as long as they are here at Hogwarts. Hopefully the pain will not be as severe if he distances himself from them."

Severus looked down again at the flaming red mark on the boy's torso. It did seem to be finally looking better than when they had come in; and Undol was now sleeping fully, content within the blackness of dreamless sleep.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco was starting to really despise some of the other Slytherins. Nott had been 'entertaining' the other third years with a very bad rendition of what had occurred on the train the night before. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered and passed their table, Nott did his impression of a swooning fit and roared with laugher with the others. The fact that Harry had also collapsed on the train had gone rather unnoticed by the majority of the school because of the wild rumors about Faykan. Apparently he was attacked by the dementor and was now dying in the hospital wing, but Nott made it a point to remember, only to mock and degrade the Gryffindors even more.

"Hey, Potter!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl with a face like a pug. "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooooo!" Draco shuddered inwardly, remembering that his father had actually considered pledging Draco to her when they were children. Thankfully, Lucius had waited and realized what poor breeding she turned out to be, and therefore had dropped the idea.

The three Gryffindors had settled themselves by the two Weasley twins, who handed them their schedules. Nott was still reciting about the train ride, and Draco finally decided to go and ask Harry directly what had happened.

As he approached he heard one of the twins recounting one time that their father had had to go to Azkaban and the dementors. Harry turned as Draco stood next to him, and nudged Hermione to make room for Draco to sit.

"Where's Faykan?" Draco asked, hoping to get straight to the heart of the matter.

"Hospital wing still…" Harry said darkly, and then explained about the ugly wound that had flared up, causing Faykan to become delirious with pain. Ron jabbed Harry in the side, and both he and Draco turned to see the subject of their conversation entering the Great Hall.

Nott called out, "Not going to start screaming again are you Undol? Need someone to keep the mean old dementors away?" as Faykan passed, but he was ignored. He settled down between Harry and Ron and accepted his schedule, "Oh, we're starting some new subjects today," he said slightly disappointed. Ron asked if he remembered what had happened on the train and afterword, but Faykan shuddered at the mention of the dementor and pressed a hand over his chest, asking for it not to be mentioned.

Ron glanced down at the schedule in his hand, and widened his eyes, "Oh, Hermione I have your schedule… wait a second… you have three classes set for this morning at nine o'clock…"

Hermione snatched it away, telling Ron to not be silly, and asking how someone could be at three places at once. Draco caught Faykan's eye as he looked over at Hermione suspiciously, but deflected Ron's protests about her schedule by reminding them that they had to get to North Tower for Divination. They all got up and left. Seeing Hagrid in the entrance hall, they waved at him, knowing that they would see him after lunch at his first lesson. Draco parted with them to go to his Arithmancy class with a smile and a wave.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~_

"Welcome to Divination," said Professor Trelawney, who had seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. "My name is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye."

Harry's impression of the divination teacher was of a large, glittering insect. He, Faykan, Ron, and Hermione were settled around one of the many round tables, with Faykan and Harry in armchairs while Ron and Hermione were settled on the smaller poufs.

Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you... Books can take you only so far in this field..."

At these words both Harry and Ron glanced, grinning, at Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't be much help in this subject. Faykan was staring past Professor Trelawney into the fireplace.

"Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future," Professor Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from face to nervous face. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy," she said suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouf. "Is your grandmother well?"

"I think so," said Neville tremulously.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," said Professor Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings. Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly. "We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shot suddenly at Parvati Patil, "beware a red-haired man."

Parvati gave a startled look at Ron, who was right behind her and edged her chair away from him.

"In the third term," Professor Trelawney went on, "we shall move on to the crystal ball, if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice, and around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever."

A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor Trelawney seemed unaware of it.

"I wonder, dear," she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest and shrank back in her chair, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?"

Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot from the shelf, and put it down on the table in front of Professor Trelawney.

"Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading… it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October."

Lavender trembled.

"Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink. Drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer. Wait for the last of the tea to drain away, and then give your cup to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of 'Unfogging the Future'. I shall move among you, helping and instructing."

When Harry, Faykan, Hermione, and Ron had their teacups filled, they went back to their table and tried to drink the scalding tea quickly. They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over, Ron with Hermione and Harry with Faykan.

"Right," said Ron as they all opened their books at pages five and six.

"What can you see in mine?" Faykan asked quietly to Harry

"A load of soggy brown stuff," said Harry. The heavily perfumed smoke in the room was making him feel sleepy and stupid.

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past the mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom.

Harry tried to pull himself together.

"Right, you've got a crooked sort of cross..." He consulted Unfogging the Future. "That means you're going to have 'trials and suffering', sorry about that, but there's a thing that could be the sun... hang on... that means 'great happiness'... so you're going to suffer but be very happy..."

"You need your Inner Eye tested, if you ask me," said Ron from across the table, and they all had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed in their direction.

"My turn..." Faykan peered into Harry's teacup, his forehead wrinkled with effort. "A falcon, no surprises there… deadly enemy, Voldemort, blah… blah… blah…" he turned the cup slowly and continued to look.

"A club… meaning an attack, well not if I can help it," he said with a smile. Harry noticed that he wasn't even consulting the book.

Professor Trelawney had moved up behind Faykan, looking over his shoulder as he read the cup, but he hadn't noticed yet.

"A skull, danger… whatever that's not out of the ordinary for us isn't it Harry," Faykan continued with a small laugh.

He turned the cup a final time, and Professor Trelawney, who was definitely reading the cup over his shoulder gasped loudly, startling Faykan into dropping the cup. It smashed on the table.

"What is it, Professor?" said Dean Thomas at once. Everyone had gotten to their feet, and slowly they crowded around Harry and Faykan to listen.

"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically as she looked at Harry, "You have the Grim."

Faykan scoffed loudly, while Harry asked, "The what?"

He could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand; Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown looked puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen… the worst omen, of death!"

Harry's stomach lurched. That dog on the cover of Death Omens in Flourish and Blotts; the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent...

Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth too. Faykan rolled his eyes dramatically and spoke up, "Even if it was the Grim, Professor, it doesn't necessarily mean that Harry will die. Besides…" he looked up at Trelawney, "I highly doubt the accuracy of divination in general, there are far too many cases of self fulfilling prophecies and other utter nonsense…"

Professor Trelawney surveyed Faykan with a look of confused disappointment.

"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I think I have a far better understanding of the workings of the Inner Eye than you do, despite your obvious affinity for it…"

"Well, have you all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not?" said Harry, taking even himself by surprise. Now nobody seemed to want to look at him.

"I think we will leave the lesson here for today," said Professor Trelawney in her mistiest voice. "Yes... please pack away your things..."

Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Ron and Faykan were avoiding Harry's eyes.

"Until we meet again," said Professor Trelawney faintly, "fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear," she pointed at Neville, "you'll be late next time, so mind you work extra hard to catch up."

_**Please Review!**_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Hippogriffs and Boggarts**

Harry was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain had cleared away; the sky was a clear, pale gray, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class.

Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. They had had another row about the Divination class at lunch. Harry walked beside Faykan as they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was only when he spotted three only too familiar backs ahead of them that he realized they must be having these lessons with the Slytherins. Nott was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling. Harry was quite sure he knew what they were talking about. Draco wandered over to them, earning a glare from the other Slytherins, but he ignored them.

Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" he called as the class approached. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

For one nasty moment, Harry thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest; Harry had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last him a lifetime. However, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called. "That's it, make sure yeh can see… now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books…"

"How?" said the Draco.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated. He took out his copy of '_The Monster Book of Monsters_', which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Harry, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

"Hasn'… hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid, looking crestfallen.

The class all shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Look…"

He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Nott sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess?"

"I… I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione. "Oh, tremendously funny!" said Nott. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Nott," said Harry and Faykan coldly. Hagrid was looking downcast and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread, "so, so yeh've got yer books an'… an', now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on... "

He strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," said Nott loudly. "That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him

"Shut up, Nott," Harry repeated louder.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you…"

"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Gee up, there!" he roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was, half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"

No one seemed to want to. Harry, Ron, Draco, Faykan and Hermione, however, approached the fence cautiously.

"Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud," said Hagrid. "Easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking in an undertone and Harry had a nasty feeling they were plotting how best to disrupt the lesson.

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move," Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt.

"Right, who wants ter go first?"

Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Even Harry, Ron, Draco, and Hermione had misgivings. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like this.

"No one?" said Hagrid, with a pleading look.

"I'll do it," said Faykan, climbing over the paddock fence.

"Good man, Faykan!" roared Hagrid. "Right then… let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

He untied one of the chains, pulled the gray hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Harry saw Nott's eyes were narrow maliciously.

"Easy now Fay," Hagrid was saying quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much..."

Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at Faykan with one fierce orange eye. Faykan was staring right back, not blinking even when tears started to trickle down his cheek from the strain. "Tha's it," said Hagrid. "Tha's it, Faykan... now, bow."

Faykan bowed deeply, averting his eyes from the Buckbeak, who only stood staring haughtily at him unmoving.

Hagrid motioned for Faykan to back away, but then the hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into a bow of its own.

"Well done, Faykan!" said Hagrid, ecstatic. "Right, yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Faykan looked only slightly nervous as he edged forward, and slowly patted the hippogriff's beak gingerly. Buckbeak closed its eyes lazily, enjoying the caress.

The class broke into applause, all except for Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were looking deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, Fay," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might' let yeh ride him!"

Faykan's eyes shot up, "What!" he yelped as Hagrid lifted him easily and set him on Buckbeak's large back, "Hagrid I don't think this is a good…"

"Go on, then," roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriffs hindquarters.

Without warning, twelve foot wings flapped open and the hippogriff charged across the paddock, soaring into the air while Faykan screamed in shock. They flew around the entire paddock once and landed back down with a loud thud.

"Good work, Faykan!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Nott, Crabbe, and

Goyle cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?"

Emboldened by Faykan's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Harry, Draco, Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Faykan watched.

Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Nott, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"This is very easy," Nott drawled, loud enough for Harry to hear him. "I knew it must have been, if Undol could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco was stroking the beak of the chestnut hippogriff when he heard Nott's piercing scream. His head whipped around, and he saw Hagrid wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as it strained to get at Nott, who was lying curled in the grass with blood pouring from his arm.

"I'm dying!" Nott yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Yer not dyin'!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me, gotta get him outta here…"

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Nott easily. As they passed, Draco saw that there was a long, deep gash on the boy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward the castle.

Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The other Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.

"They should fire him straight away!" said Pansy Parkinson, who was in tears.

"It was Nott's fault!" snapped Draco. Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly.

"Like you care, blood traitor!" Pansy yelled, and she ran up the marble staircase. The rest of the Slytherins grew very quiet as they watched how Draco would react. Draco stiffened, not particularly caring about the idle threat that Pansy's pronouncement would mean right now, more focused of how this development was going to affect Hagrid, who he counted as much of a friend as he did Harry or Faykan.

Faykan grabbed Draco as he made to move toward the dungeons, "Wait," he whispered in Draco's ear, "Come with me."

Faykan then lead Draco up the marble staircase toward Gryffindor Tower, following behind Harry, Ron and Hermione. As they reached the seventh floor, he tapped Harry on the shoulder and inclined his head down a nearby corridor. Harry looked back to Ron and Hermione, but they were arguing about the recent event with Nott again, so the three boys slipped down the corridor unnoticed.

"What's this about Faykan?" Draco asked as they made their way across the corridor.

"I'm showing you two the place where we care going to continue your training for the rest of our time at Hogwarts." Faykan replied.

Harry looked like he was going to say something, but Draco suddenly recognized where they were by the tapestry. Faykan stood across from it, staring at the blank wall with a look of deep concentration. Several seconds went by, and suddenly the wall glowed, forming a giant pair of doors with runes etched in, writing in elvish. Draco was surprised that he was able to recognize what they read; he and Harry had been studying the language book every spare moment so they could use the language to converse without anyone else being able to listen in: '_n'uma aa' auta nan' ai' ya ier vee' mellon beth._' _[1]_

Faykan placed one hand upon the door, and simply read the words upon the door, causing it to grind open. Within was a perfect arena for dueling, both magical and martial. Rows of weapons lined the walls, along with books on combat and defensive spells. There were even archery targets on the far wall, and several bows rested on them. The three boys entered, Draco and Harry looking around in awe, while Faykan pulled a shrunken bundle out of his robes. He approached a waist high table off to the side with many chairs around it, and set the covered _Palantír_ from his house on it.

"Well?" he asked finally as he turned to them both.

"It's wonderful…" Harry said, still looking around.

"How did you find this Fay?" Draco asked. He remembered this room from his first year, but it had only been a tiny cupboard then. How had it changed?

"This is the Room of Requirement," Faykan explained, "It stands idle, until someone passes it who had great need for something, anything, and then the room becomes it. For example… Say I needed a shortcut to the Gryffindor common room." He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and a door appeared in the side of the room. Faykan walked over and opened it slowly, revealing the Gryffindor common room, Ron and Hermione were sitting at the fire, still arguing and not noticing the new door that had opened out of the solid wall behind them. Faykan closed the door and smiled at Harry and Draco's shocked faces.

"Should we tell Ron and Hermione about this?" Harry asked after a long pause.

"Depends," Faykan replied, "Are you willing to sacrifice training time to bring them up to your and Draco's level?"

Harry didn't answer him, but wrenched the door Faykan had created open and marched into the common room. Draco could see Ron and Hermione startle at Harry's sudden appearance, and they stared open mouthed at the doorway. Faykan stood off to the side, shaking his head, but grinning while Harry led the two Gryffindors into the training room and explained what Faykan had told him and Draco about the room as well as their stay at Faykan's house.

"That must have been so educational…" Hermione said dreamily, as if being in such a historical building was a dream come true.

"Wow Harry," Ron added, "I didn't know you and Draco learned how to fight with swords."

Both Ron and Hermione practically demanded to join in and train with Harry and Draco while at school, and together Faykan, Harry and Draco spent the rest of the day to teaching them the basics of swordplay. Ron picked the concept rather up easily, far faster than Draco remembered learning it himself, but Hermione seemed to struggle. As odd as it was, she just didn't seem to have the mindset to actually hit an opponent when they were so close together. So Faykan pulled her aside and swapped her sword for a bow and tried teaching her the concepts of archery, which she seemed to handle far easier.

They kept at it until around dinnertime, Harry and Draco alternating with Ron and Faykan with Hermione at the targets across the room, when Ron's stomach gave a particularly loud rumble. His ears went slightly pink and he muttered, "Must be time for a break, huh?" Draco agreed wholeheartedly, his arms were getting sore from lifting a sword over and over to block and attack; the weapons supplied by the room were much heavier than the ones that Faykan had trained them with at Orthanc. Faykan and Hermione joined them in the corner where the small break area was set up, and they slumped into chairs around the table where the _Palantír_ rested.

Faykan closed his eyes for a moment and trays of food from the Great Hall appeared around the black wrapped orb, and they settled down to eat while Faykan, Hermione and Harry read from different books, and Ron challenged Draco to a game of chess, raising his eyebrows when a set appeared between them.

After they had all eaten their fill and Ron won their second game (barley), Faykan decided to pair them up for some dueling practice, starting with _Expelliarmus_, and working up through several spells that were O.W.L level. Hermione was the only one who could perform all of the spells perfectly, not for a lack of trying on the account of the other three boys, when a distant clock chimed, signaling that it was well past curfew.

Draco paled slightly, unsure how he was going to get to the dungeons without being caught, when he remembered where they were. As the Gryffindors filed through the door to their common room, Ron yawning loudly, Draco closed his eyes and focused on receiving a doorway to his dormitory. After several seconds he opened his eyes slightly, and spotted a green door directly across the room from the red door to Gryffindor Tower. Edging it open, Draco saw the interior of his dormitory, the other beds filled with sleeping boys. Silently he swept through and closed the door, noting that it changed into a large tapestry of the Slytherin Serpent.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Nott didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon; his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Harry's opinion, as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it, Theo?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Nott, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Harry saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

Harry and Ron scowled at each other; Snape wouldn't have said "settle down" if they'd walked in late, he'd have given them detention. But the Slytherins had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's classes.

They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Nott set up his cauldron right next to Faykan and Ron, right in front of Harry and Draco, so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table.

"Sir," Nott called, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm…"

"Undol, partner with Nott so that he can make today's potion, Weasley will have to manage on his own for this lesson." Snape said without looking up.

Ron looked livid, but Faykan simply sighed and moved closer to Nott to work with his ingredients, chopping the roots expertly and quickly to make up for having to essentially start over. Harry saw Nott lean closer to Faykan and start whispering in his ear, causing Faykan to stiffen with anger. Harry could only hear bits and pieces of the half conversation.

"…he's complained to the school governors. And to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this, who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again…?"

Harry tried to tune him out, and focused on his and Draco's potion. As he started slicing dead caterpillars, Nott leaned closer to Faykan again, and out of the corner of his eye Harry saw him slip his uninjured hand under the table. Faykan jumped immediately and glared at Nott, who raised his eyebrows innocently before smirking wickedly.

A few cauldrons away, Neville was in trouble. His potion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned…

"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape, ladling some up and allowing to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see.

"Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Please, sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right…"

"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville. "Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly."

Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear.

"Help me!" he moaned to Hermione.

"Hey, Harry," said Seamus Finnigan, leaning over to borrow Harry's brass scales, "have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning, they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."

"Where?" said Harry and Draco quickly. At the table in front of them, Nott looked back, listening closely.

Seamus said that it wasn't far from Hogwarts, but he hadn't been caught as it was only a muggle that had seen him, and he had been long gone when the ministry had shown up.

"Not too far from here..." Draco repeated, looking significantly at Harry. He turned around and saw Nott watching closely. "What, Theodore?"

Nott sneered at Draco before turning to Harry, eyes shining malevolently, "Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed Potter?"

"Yeah, that's right," said Harry offhandedly.

"Of course, if it was me," he said quietly, "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy; I'd be out there looking for him."

"What are you talking about, Nott?" said Faykan roughly next to him.

"Don't you know, Potter?" breathed Nott, his pate eyes narrowed.

"Know what?"

The Slytherin let out a low, sneering laugh.

"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck," he said. "Want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."

"What are you talking about?" said Harry angrily, but at that moment Snape called, "You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's... "

Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly, watching Neville sweat as he stirred his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions to him out of the corner of her mouth, so that Snape wouldn't see. Harry and Ron packed away their unused ingredients and went to wash their hands and ladles in the stone basin in the corner.

"What did Nott mean?" Harry muttered to Faykan as he stuck his hands under the icy jet that poured from the gargoyle's mouth "Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me… yet."

"He's making it up," said Faykan savagely. "He's trying to make you do something stupid..."

The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron.

"Everyone gather 'round," said Snape, his black eyes glittering, and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned."

The Gryffindors watched fearfully. Nott's group of Slytherins looked excited. Snape picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand and dipped a small spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat.

There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm. The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor, and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown.

"Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, which wiped the smiles from every face. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."

Harry, Ron, Faykan and Hermione climbed the steps to the entrance hall. Harry was still thinking about what Nott had said, while Ron was seething about Snape.

"Five points from Gryffindor because the potion was all right! Why didn't you lie, Hermione? You should've said Neville did it all by himself!"

Hermione didn't answer. Ron looked around.

"Where is she?"

Harry turned too. They were at the top of the steps now, watching the rest of the class pass them, heading for the Great Hall and lunch.

"She was right behind us," said Ron, frowning.

Nott passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked at Harry and Faykan, his eyes lingering for a few seconds on Faykan before disappearing up the marble staircase.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione was hurrying back up the dungeon stairs, just in time to reach the spot she had left when using her Time-Turner.

"She was right behind us," she heard Ron saying.

As she mounted the stairs she saw Harry, Faykan and Ron waiting for her, utterly confused as to where she had gone.

"How did you do that?" said Ron.

"What?" said Hermione, joining the three boys.

"One minute you were right behind us, the next moment, you were back at the bottom of the stairs again."

"What?" Hermione looked slightly confused. "Oh, I had to go back for something. Oh no…"

A seam in her bag had split, spilling out several of her course books.

"Why are you carrying all these around with you?" Ron asked her.

"You know how many subjects I'm taking," Hermione retorted.

Before Ron could push the matter further, Faykan stepped forward and started picking up the books that fell on the floor. "You two go save us seats, I'll help Hermione with these. We'll be right behind you."

Ron and Harry shrugged, and proceeded over to the Great Hall. Hermione smiled at Faykan as he hefted her fallen books. "Thanks," she said as she mended her bag.

"For what, picking up your books or distracting Ron," Faykan retorted with a grin.

"Both," she replied simply.

"You should take great care Hermione," Faykan said abruptly, as they made their way across the entrance hall, "We're not a thick as you think, even Ron's noticing. Maybe you had better drop a class or two and turn that _little_ secret in…"

Hermione stopped, eyeing Faykan suspiciously, as he just looked back with a funny little grin, like he had said nothing out of the ordinary. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Oh, but I think you do. Come on its almost _time_ for Defense." And he walked off. Was it her imagination, but had he noticed… no, Hermione scolded herself, she had been far too careful for anyone to notice completely, but then again…

She entered the Great Hall just in time to hear Ron saying to Harry, "D'you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts before, unless you counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher had brought a cageful of pixies to class and set them loose.

"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready. "If you'd follow me."

Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.

"Inside, please," said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing back. The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."

He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Neville went scarlet. Harry glared at Snape; it was bad enough that he bullied Neville in his own classes, let alone doing it in front of other teachers.

Professor Lupin had raised his eyebrows.

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," he said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably." Neville's face went, if possible, even redder. Snape's lip curled, but he left, shutting the door with a snap.

"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there."

Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus Finnigan eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks, I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" Hermione put up her hand.

"It's a shape shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.

"This means," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to him, bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air, was very off putting, but Harry had a go.

"Err… because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake, tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening."

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing.

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... _Riddikulus_!"

"_Riddikulus_!" said the class together.

"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.

"Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.

"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Professor Lupin cheerfully. Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."

Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically. Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful.

"Professor Snape... hmmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Err… yes," said Neville nervously. "But, I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me," said Professor Lupin, now smiling. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

Neville looked startled, but said, "Well... always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress... green, normally... and sometimes a fox fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" prompted Professor Lupin.

"A big red one," said Neville.

"Right then," said Professor Lupin. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Yes," said Neville uncertainty, plainly wondering what was coming next.

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape," said Lupin. "And you will raise your wand, thus, and cry '_Riddikulus_'… and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."

There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled more violently.

"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," said Professor Lupin. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."

The room went quiet. Harry thought... What scared him most in the world?

His first thought was Lord Voldemort, a Voldemort returned to full strength. But before he had even started to plan a possible counterattack on a boggart-Voldemort, a horrible image came floating to the surface of his mind...

A rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black cloak... a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth... then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning...

Harry shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Faykan was watching Professor Lupin, while Ron was muttering to himself, "Take its legs off." Harry was sure he knew what that was about. Ron's greatest fear was spiders.

"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin.

Harry felt a lurch of fear. He wasn't ready. How could you make a dementor less frightening? But he didn't want to ask for more time; everyone else was nodding and rolling up their sleeves.

"Neville, we're going to back away," said Professor Lupin. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward... Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot…"

They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.

"On the count of three, Neville," said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One two… three… now!"

A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville.

Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

"_R-r-riddikulus_!" squeaked Neville.

There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.

There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"

Parvati walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a bloodstained, bandaged mummy; its sightless face was turned to Parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising…

"_Riddikulus_!" cried Parvati.

A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

"Seamus!" roared Professor Lupin.

Seamus darted past Parvati.

Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor length black hair and a skeletal, green tinged face… a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that made the hair on Harry's head stand on end, "_Riddikulus_!" shouted Seamus.

The banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her voice was gone.

Crack! The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then… crack! became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before… crack! becoming a single, bloody eyeball.

'It's confused!" shouted Lupin. "We're getting there! Dean!"

Dean hurried forward.

Crack! The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab.

"_Riddikulus_!" yelled Dean.

'There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Ron leapt forward.

Crack!

Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, Harry thought Ron had frozen. Then…

"_Riddikulus_!" bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over; Lavender Brown squealed and ran out of its way and it came to a halt at Harry's feet. He raised his wand, ready, but…

"Faykan!" Professor Lupin cried.

Faykan stepped around Harry, an eager look on his face.

Crack!

Harry gasped, it looked like a dementor had appeared in front of Faykan, but it wasn't the same. The black robed figure had legs, and its hands were covered in armored gauntlets, as well as boots. Upon its head, perched upon the hood covering its face was a tarnished circlet of gold. Faykan had frozen in fear. The creature drew from with in its robes a large cruel looking sword, and then it shrieked. Everyone covered their ears as the horrible sound bounced off the walls. It was worse than the banshee that Seamus' boggart had become, but Harry though he could hear… something amidst the high piercing notes of the creatures screams, "_Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul._" Fear assaulted Harry in waves, and his body demanded that he run, hide, do something other than just stand there with this creature.

Faykan fell backward onto the floor, grasping his chest, as an unearthly scream was torn from his lungs, adding to the din created by his boggart. He had dropped his wand and just lay there, curled in agony as the creature advanced slowly on him, raising the sword high, ready to stab it down into the boy.

Harry darted forward to defend Faykan, just as Professor Lupin dived between Harry and the boggart, "Here!" he shouted.

Crack!

The robed figure had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said, "_Riddikulus_!" almost lazily.

Crack!

"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" said Lupin as the boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach. Crack! Snape was back. This time Neville charged forward looking determined.

"_Riddikulus_!" he shouted, and they had a split second's view of Snape in his lacy dress before Neville let out a great "Ha!" of laughter, and the boggart exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone.

Harry was kneeling by Faykan, who hadn't moved from his place on the floor, although he had stopped screaming. The rest of the Gryffindors had circled around them, muttering amongst themselves, trying to figure out what Faykan's boggart had become. Professor Lupin came striding through them, a chocolate bar in hand, and knelt beside Faykan, urging him to open his mouth. Faykan did so, agonizingly slowly, and Lupin fed him the chocolate, asking Harry to make sure that Faykan chewed it, as he seemed reluctant to do it himself.

"Class dismissed, Oh… Let me see… five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart, ten for Neville because he did it twice, and five each to Harry and Hermione."

"But I didn't do anything," said Harry.

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry," Lupin said distractedly, still watching Faykan. "Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me... to be handed in on Monday."

The Gryffindors left, still muttering, until only Harry, Ron, Hermione and Professor Lupin were left with Faykan. "Professor, what's wrong with him?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"He's in shock. That creature was something like a dementor, and if I make my guess right…" he ran a hand over Faykan's chest, where the scar was, and Faykan let out a whimper of pain. "Yes, his wound had inflamed again. I'll need to take him to the hospital wing." Professor Lupin then lifted Faykan into his arms and led the way upstairs, with all three Gryffindors trailing right behind him.

_[1] nan' ai' ya ier vee' mellon beth : none may pass but those who speak as friends_

_[2] Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. : One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them._

**Important! Important! Important!**

**Author's Note: Okay. I'll say this plainly, I am very upset with my readers! I looked at my stats the other day and saw that I have over 100 people reading this story, and yet, I only have 18 reviews! I've seen countless story and author favorites. And ton's of author story alert's too! But only 1 review for the last chapter? One out of all the alerts I got.**

**I feel a little used and discouraged by this. I don't write just for the reviews, but because I enjoy it. However, it helps to know that the readers enjoy what I'm writing as well. I don't really think you guys, as a whole, realize the affect you're having on the community as a whole.**

**I know a lot of you may have concerns about reviewing. Let me put most of them to rest.**

**1. "If you think that because you're not a writer or don't write well, that you don't deserve to review other's works."**

**To this I say, "Do you have to be a writer to go to the bookstore, buy a book, and say whether you like it or not?" No! Of course you don't. Writers just like to know if you liked the chapter or story. You don't have to give detailed criticism, but we would like to know if there was something specific you liked and would like to see more of. Or if there's something you hated and never want to see again. We also like to know what you see for the future of the story. You don't have to write well to have a good suggestion that may relieve writer's block and give you an update faster! **

**Some of you may say that authors who get published don't get reviews, they get sales numbers and that I should be happy with the amount of favorites and alerts I got. To that I say, that is true. But! Authors who get published also get reviewed by critics and other authors. Plus they usually get fan mail or messages on their book's website.**

**2. "If you think you shouldn't review because you can't write in English."**

**To this I say, that is what Google Translator is for! **

**So if you are foriegn, please feel free to review! If I don't understand your language, please say what the language is in English at the top of your message and I will translate it and my answer using Google Translator. :)**

**3. "If you don't review because you have abandonment issues from authors writing a couple chapters and then leaving, or you don't review until the author gets a fair amount of chapters done, or you don't review unless the story is updated consistently."**

**To this I say, I will never abandon you! Ever! It's not in my nature. I will keep this story going until I have finished it, the same as my others. I might get writer's block for a couple weeks sometimes, but not often and I always work through it. I will always try to update consistently. Every Tuesday if I can manage. **

**For those who only review after the author has a certain word count or chapter count, doing that discourages newer authors from continuing. They think you don't like it and that's why they're not getting feedback. Older authors know better and usually readers know them as well and know they won't abandon them. We know that most people put they're search on over 10,000 words to avoid clogging up your screen with one-shots. But the newer authors don't most of the time. This makes them defect to writers coffee shop, live journal, and other sites.**

**5. "If you don't review because the story is from a new author and not very good."**

**To this I say, when you first rode a bike, were you perfect? No! Newer authors need encouragement and time to improve. To flamers, if you don't like it, don't read it, and flaming doesn't help! Encouragement and politely telling them what it is you don't like work far better.**

**Now, thank you for your time and patience. And thank you for the reviews I have gotten and the support. Please, if you have friends on this site, reader or author alike. Pass on the message and start the revolution to save from going the same way as MySpace when Facebook came along. This site deserves better! **

**Now please review!**

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	7. Chapter 6

**THANK YOU! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, had i known all i needed to do was post a small rant, i would have done so sooner, lol. It makes me very happy to know that there are indeed quite a few people who do care about this story, even if they don't express it. So, without further delay:**

**Chapter Six**

**Aftermath**

Severus Snape swept through the corridors up to the hospital wing, uttering curses to Remus Lupin under his breath. Several first years ran to get out of his way as he strode around the last corner and burst into the room. How could the man be so foolish as to allow the third year to confront a boggart-dementor, or whatever the creature was that had caused Undol to drop back into this state?

Severus maneuvered toward the back bed where Poppy had already set the boy down and made him as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.

'At least he isn't screaming like last time', Severus thought sarcastically as he approached. Indeed, Undol was merely laying there, eyes staring off into space, his skin as cold as ice.

"I've tried everything I can think of to bring him to consciousness, but nothing has worked." Poppy said, looking very concerned. It wasn't often that she was unable to heal a student's injury, but Undol was definitely not an ordinary student. Severus leaned close to check the boy's vital signs again, even though Poppy had said that they were stable, when he heard a slight whisper escape Undol's near purple lips. Severus blinked, surely he hadn't just spoken, but despite himself he leaned close, straining to hear.

"_Ath..elas… Ath…elas…_" came the soft murmuring.

Severus stood up suddenly, mind racing. He had heard of that name somewhere. _Athelas_, it was a plant; that much he remembered. Summoning a house elf, Severus called several old books of Potion herbs and immediately started to search them. After what seemed like several hours, he found it:

'_Athelas, also known as Kingsfoil._

_Plant with powerful healing properties. The Athelas plant had long leaves that give off a sweet and pungent fragrance. The scent had a refreshing and invigorating effect on those who inhaled it. Athelas could be used to ease pain, and it also had the power to counteract the effects of the 'Black Breath' exuded by the Nazgûl according to legend._'

'_When the black breath blows _

_and death's shadow grows _

_and all lights pass, _

_come Athelas! come Athelas! _

_Life to the dying _

_In the king's hand lying!_'

"Poppy," Severus said hurriedly, and she bustled over to him, "Do you happen to have any Kingsfoil in your herb stocks?"

"Kingsfoil?" she said slightly confused, "Let me see." She half ran over to her store cupboards and started shuffling jars and boxes around. Severus reread the entry several times; thinking hard of how he could use the plant to help heal the boy.

"Ah, here's some. It's not much, only seven or eight leaves." Poppy said, returning with a small jar of leaves. Severus snatched it away and studied them. "A bowl of boiling water Poppy, quick." As she summoned a bowl and filled it with boiling water form her wand, Severus set two of the eight leaves aside, for use right now on Undol. He would take the other six leaves and experiment on making a healing potion with them, Poppy wouldn't mind, as she clearly had no other use for them.

Afterward he crushed the two leaves into the boiling water and stirred it around with his wand, finally setting the bowl near Undol's head, hoping the legend was true. Several stressful minutes later, the boys eyes refocused, and his breathing deepened as he returned to consciousness. Severus sat back in the chair he had summoned, sighing deeply; it had worked.

Undol inhaled deeply, then looked around with a small smile on his face, "I smell _Athelas_, was that your work Professor?"

"Indeed it was Mr. Undol." Severus said with a small smirk. "But my question is why it was necessary? Would you please explain this…" he added, sliding a hand across the red wound on the boy's bare chest. Undol hissed in pain at the pressure, but did not cry out. "If I knew sir, I would tell you." Severus could tell the boy was lying because Undol refused to look him in the eyes.

"Was it…" Severus consulted the book he had found Kingsfoil in, "A _Nazgûl_, Mr. Undol?" The boy's face paled slightly, but he didn't answer. Severus merely nodded, "I thought so." And Severus strode away immediately, off to inform the Headmaster of this potentially important news regarding Mr. Faykan Undol…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

The story of the boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way that Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever.

The story about Faykan collapsing due to his boggart was the only story that was circling faster. People, mainly Nott and his group of Slytherins, kept bringing it up in the middle of classes. In the corridors too, which just lead to many other people bombarding Faykan with questions as to what it was, and why he had had such an attack from it.

Faykan had taken to walking the halls from class to class in his animagus form just to avoid attention, and had coerced Harry into carrying him so he wouldn't be stepped on or delayed by curious people. Harry only consented because his friend had a point. Even with Harry carrying him from class to class, people still stopped him to coo at and stroke Faykan, thinking he was Harry's pet. "The only good thing out of this," Faykan had said, "is that I get extra food out of it, and sometimes a few people actually scratch a sweet spot."

Harry was also growing to dread the hours he spent in Professor Trelawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enormous eyes filled with tears every time she looked at him. He couldn't like Professor Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering on reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had taken to haunting Professor Trelawney's tower room at lunch times, and always returned with annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though they knew things that others didn't. They had also started using hushed voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he were on his deathbed.

Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson after lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence.

"Why would anyone bother looking after them?" said Ron, after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' throats.

At the start of October, however, Harry had something else to occupy him, something so enjoyable it more than made up for his unsatisfactory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor team, had started training sessions three evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind, or rain could tarnish Harry's wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quidditch Cup.

Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly.

"What's happened?" he asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy while Faykan the fox rested; curled on Ron's lap.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Ron, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October, Halloween."

"Excellent," said Fred, who had followed Harry through the portrait hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."

Harry sat next to Ron, a smile creeping on his face, as Faykan leapt across to Harry's lap, brushing against his chest and practically begging for Harry to run his hands through his soft black fur. Harry rolled his eyes at his furry friend, "Honestly Fay, you really want me to treat you like a pet don't you." If foxes could smile, Harry was sure Faykan would be grinning from ear to ear.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Crookshanks was enjoying this new home that his mistress had brought him to. He had all the space he wanted, even with the hundreds of other cats that lived in the huge building with him. Crookshanks had met a few of the other cats in the last few days, and they had all said that it would be wise for him to avoid one 'Mrs. Norris', as she was very rude and obsessed with helping her master catch the children when they had done things that displeased the old man. Crookshanks didn't know what would make a cat act that way, but had decided to just take the advice as it was.

He had met several other creatures in his explorations of the grounds, but none had been nearly as interesting as the large, shaggy, black dog that wasn't a dog. He tried to hide on the edges of the forest, but Crookshanks had seen him, and had confronted him about his shady behavior. It had been difficult for him to understand the dog man, as if he wasn't used to speaking, which Crookshanks found extremely odd. However, he could understand enough to learn that the dog man was desperate to get inside the castle, specifically the tower rooms where Crookshanks' mistress and her friends lived. Crookshanks had a feeling that it must be related to the rat man, because the dog had the same scents on him, yet he was different from the rat man; less dangerous.

Crookshanks had agreed to help the dog man enter the castle after his mistress and her friends left for the day, just in case they tried to stop them. He was now scouting out the lower room for other ways to get in without going past the big picture door of the pink woman. Mistress was sitting in a big chair next to the red and black haired boys. Lying on the black haired boy's lap was the old fox, not only was he hiding that he was old but he was hiding that he was a person now, Crookshanks was certain that he would never understand humans…

He leapt onto his mistress lap, a small snack clutched in his mouth; a spider.

"Does he have to eat that in front of us?" said the red haired boy, scowling. He definitely didn't like Crookshanks, and that confused the cat to no end. All he had ever done to the boy was tried to save his life from the rat man.

"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?" said Mistress. Crookshanks purred while he ate the spider, watching the red haired boy for any signs of agitation. Hopefully he would mention where the rat man was hidden so Crookshanks could try again to stop him.

"Just keep him over there, that's all," said the boy irritably, turning back to his paper. "I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag."

And there it was, just the information Crookshanks had wanted. He glanced over at the black haired boy as he yawned loudly, and noticed the old fox watching him intently. There was something odd in that piercing blue gaze, and the smells coming from the old one were so strange that Crookshanks hesitated slightly. He could smell the scents unique to the fox person, but also the scent of the black haired boy. Not too odd, seeing he was lying on said boy, but the old fox was saturated in the boy's scent, as if it was part of him as well. Crookshanks pondered this for a few more seconds, and then promptly dismissed it, it was not his problem because the old fox was not a threat to his mistress, but the rat man was.

He pounced, landing squarely on the red haired boy's bag and began tear at it; searching for the rat's hiding spot. "OY!" the boy yelled, grabbing the bag, "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

The boy started spinning the bag in the air, trying to dislodge Crookshanks, but only succeeded in sending the rat flying from his hiding place.

"CATCH THAT CAT" the boy yelled as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified rat.

The rat dived under a large chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs, and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw.

The red head and mistress hurried over, and mistress grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and pulled him away. The red haired boy flattened himself and pulled out the struggling rat by the tail. They began arguing with each other, but Crookshanks was busy watching the old fox. While everyone in the room had stood or moved to watch the spectacle the children were making, the old fox had simply jumped to an arm of the chair and settled down to watch with mild curiosity.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Ron was still in a bad mood with Hermione next day. He barely talked to her all through Herbology, even though he, Harry, Faykan, and Hermione were working together on the same puffapod. He continued to sulk the entire way up to Transfiguration class, almost coming to a boiling point while they were waiting for Professor McGonagall to arrive.

Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious.

"What's the matter, Lavender?" said Hermione anxiously as she, Harry (carrying Faykan the fox), and Ron went to join the group.

"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati whispered. "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox." She glared at Faykan in Harry's arms, as if he was the guilty animal.

"Oh," said Hermione, "I'm sorry, Lavender."

"I should have known!" said Lavender tragically. "You know what day it is?"

"Err…"

"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!"

The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamus shook his head seriously. Hermione hesitated; then she said, "You... you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?"

"Well, not necessarily by a fox," said Lavender, looking up at Hermione with streaming eyes, "but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't l?"

"Oh," said Hermione. She paused again. "Was Binky an old rabbit?"

"N-no!" sobbed Lavender. "H-he was only a baby!"

Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders.

"But then, why would you dread him dying?" said Hermione.

Parvati glared at her.

"Well, look at it logically," said Hermione, turning to the rest of the group, "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today," Lavender wailed loudly, "and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock…"

"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," said Ron loudly, "she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."

Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and when they got into the classroom, they seated themselves on either side of Harry and didn't speak to each other for the entire lesson.

Harry was about to get up and head for the door as the bell rang, when Professor McGonagall called them all back.

"One moment, please!" she called as the class made to leave. "As you're all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!"

Neville put up his hand.

"Please, Professor, I-I think I've lost…"

"Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall. "She seemed to think it was safer. Well, that's all, you may leave."

Faykan poked Harry in the back from his seat behind him, and nodded at Professor McGonagall, pulling the two forms out of his bag. They made their way up to her, smiles plastered on their faces as Faykan handed her the signed forms. She read them quickly and the frowned down at both of them, which caused their hearts to sink slightly.

"I'm sorry boys, but Professor Dumbledore has deemed it necessary that you both not be allowed to go to Hogsmeade."

They both started to complain loudly, demanding reasons why they weren't allowed, and that it was unfair that they couldn't go even with signed permission forms. She refused to budge even an inch, or to explain the Headmaster's reasoning. Finally she turned to look at them with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? "I'm really sorry, boys, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be late for your next lesson."

There was nothing to be done. Ron called Professor McGonagall a lot of names that greatly annoyed Hermione; Hermione assumed an 'all-for-the-best' expression that made Ron even angrier. Harry had to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and happily about what they were going to do first once they got into Hogsmeade. Faykan had a sour look on his face, but didn't say anything concerning the matter.

"There's always the feast," said Ron, in an effort to cheer them both up. "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."

"Yeah," said Harry gloomily, "great."

The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lot better if he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone else. Nothing anyone said made him feel any better about being left behind. Ron halfheartedly suggested the Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione stamped on that one, reminding Ron what Dumbledore had told them about the dementors being able to see through them. Percy had ,what were possibly the least, helpful words of comfort.

"They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, it's not all it's cracked up to be," he said seriously. "All right, the sweet shop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit, but really, apart from that, you're not missing anything."

Faykan had merely rolled his eyes at Percy.

On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his best to act normally.

"We'll bring you both lots of sweets back from Honeydukes," said Hermione, looking desperately sorry for them.

"Yeah, loads," said Ron. He and Hermione had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Faykan and Harry's difficulties.

"Don't worry about us," said Harry, in what he hoped was an offhand voice, "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."

He accompanied them to the entrance hall where Filch, the caretaker, was standing inside the front doors checking off names on a long list. He was peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.

"Staying here, Potter?" shouted Nott, who was standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle. "Scared of passing the dementors?"

Harry ignored him and made his way back up the marble staircase, towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze.

"Fortuna Major," said Harry listlessly.

The portrait swung open and he climbed through the hole into the common room. It was full of chattering first and second years, and a few older students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often the novelty had worn off.

"Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!"

It was Colin Creevey, a second year who was deeply in awe of Harry and never missed an opportunity to speak to him. He was sitting in a circle of chairs with other first and second years, with Faykan the fox held in his arms, and he was petting him absently. Faykan was trying to brace himself against each stroke of Colin's hand; obviously he still hadn't understood that he was petting too hard, despite Faykan's constant hints.

"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry? Why not? Hey," Colin looked eagerly around at his friends, "you can come and sit with us, if you like, Harry!"

"Err… no thanks, Colin," said Harry, who wasn't in the mood to have a lot of people staring avidly at the scar on his forehead. "I… I've got to go to the library, got to get some work done."

After that, he had no choice but to turn right around and head back out of the portrait hole again.

Faykan squirmed out of Colin's grasp and dived out of the portrait hole after Harry, changing when it had closed fully.

"What was the point of waking me up?" the Fat Lady called grumpily after them as he walked away.

Together Faykan and Harry wandered toward the library, Faykan complaining about Colin as they walked. Halfway there, Harry changed his mind; he didn't feel like working. They turned around and came face to face with Filch, who had obviously seen off the last of the Hogsmeade visitors.

"What are you doing?" Filch snarled suspiciously.

"Nothing," said Harry truthfully.

"Nothing!" spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. "A likely story! Sneaking around on your own, why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

Faykan shrugged.

"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" snapped Filch. He stood glaring until they both had passed out of sight.

But Faykan didn't want to go back to the common room; so they climbed a staircase, Harry thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and were walking along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Harry?"

They both doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you two doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade," said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.

"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Harry for a moment. "Why don't you two come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson."

"A what?" said Harry.

They followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a very large tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly fingers.

"Water demon," said Lupin, surveying the grindylow thoughtfully. "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle."

The grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a tangle of weeds in a corner.

"Cup of tea?" Lupin said, looking around for his kettle. "I was just thinking of making one."

Faykan nodded, still watching the grindylow.

"All right," said Harry awkwardly.

Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the spout.

"Sit down," said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid, but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"

Faykan laughed half heartedly, while Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

"Professor McGonagall told me," said Lupin, passing Harry and Faykan a pair of chipped mugs of tea. "You're not worried, are you?"

"No," said Harry.

He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog they'd seen in Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. He didn't want Lupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin already seemed to think he couldn't cope with a boggart.

Something of Harry's thoughts seemed to have shown on his face, because Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Harry?"

"No," Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea and watched the grindylow brandishing a fist at him. "Yes," he said suddenly, putting his tea down on Lupin's desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart?"

"Yes," said Lupin slowly. He eyed Faykan for a moment before returning his attention back to Harry.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" said Harry abruptly.

Lupin raised his eyebrows.

"Well, besides the fact that I needed to handle the situation quickly," he glanced at Faykan again, who was staring down into his cup of tea, "I would have thought that was obvious, Harry,"

Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was taken aback.

"Why?" he said again.

"Well," said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

Harry stared. Not only was this the last answer he'd expected, but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Harry had ever heard say the name aloud (apart from himself and Faykan) was Professor Dumbledore.

"Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. "But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom right after that other creature..." he hesitated and sent another glance at Faykan before continuing, "I imagined that people would panic further."

"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Harry honestly. "I… I remembered those dementors."

"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. "Well, well... I'm impressed." He smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is fear. Very wise, Harry."

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he drank some of his tea.

"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the boggart?" said Lupin shrewdly.

"Well... yeah," said Harry. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier. "Professor Lupin, you know the dementors…"

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," called Lupin.

The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry and Faykan, his black eyes narrowing.

"Ah, Severus," said Lupin, smiling. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Harry, Faykan, and Lupin.

"I was just showing these boys my grindylow," said Lupin pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

"Fascinating," said Snape, without looking at it. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"Yes, Yes, I will," said Lupin.

"I made an entire cauldronfull," Snape continued, "if you need more."

"I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus."

"Not at all," said Snape, but there was a look in his eye Harry didn't like. He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.

Harry looked curiously at the goblet. Lupin smiled.

"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me," he said. "I have never been much of a potion brewer and this one is particularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. "Pity sugar makes it useless," he added, taking a sip and shuddering. Faykan sniffed loudly, which caused both Harry and Professor Lupin to look at him, but he just shook his head and returned to his tea.

"Why…?" Harry began. Lupin looked at him and answered the unfinished question.

"I've been feeling a bit off-color," he said. "This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it."

Professor Lupin took another sip and Harry had a crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands.

"So," Professor Lupin said, glancing at Faykan again, probably hoping to ease some of the tension between them, "May I ask you Mr. Undol, what creature that was that your boggart turned into?"

Faykan mumbled something into his teacup, but Harry couldn't understand him, "What was that?" Lupin said.

"It was a…" Faykan paused for a moment, then drew a deep breath and continued, "A, _Nazgûl_…"

"A what?" asked Harry, and to his surprise, Professor Lupin answered. "A _Nazgûl_, Harry. Basically a greater type of dementor. According to legend, they were the original creators of the dementors, marking their victims with darkness that consumed their bodies and transformed their spirits into hungering wraiths of shadow and cold…"

Faykan shivered slightly, and Professor Lupin stopped at once. He drained the goblet and pulled a face. "Disgusting," he said. "Well, boys, I'd better get back to work. See you at the feast later."

Faykan merely nodded again and stood. "Right," said Harry, putting down his empty teacup.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Sirius Black waited at the edge of the Forbidden Forest for his friend Crookshanks to come, signaling the all clear for him to enter Hogwarts. Sirius planned to enter and kill Peter during the Halloween feast, making sure that most, if not all, of the students would be in the Great Hall and out of the common rooms.

The sun was starting to set when Crookshanks appeared, and Sirius set off, disguised as the large grim. Together they clambered through one of the many secret passageways into the castle and made their way up the staircases towards Gryffindor Tower. If not for his single-mindedness to kill Peter, Sirius would have been ecstatic about being inside Hogwarts again, his first true home.

They pounded down the last corridor before reaching the fat lady's portrait, and skidded to a halt. Coming around the corner was a large, jet black fox. Crookshanks eyed it, clearly knowing something about it, but Sirius couldn't understand his feline friend well enough to ask what.

The fox didn't move, it simply froze upon seeing Sirius' animagus form, and he assumed that it was just an animal, and could easily be ignored. Approaching the fat lady, he transformed back into a human. "Password…" she said, eyeing him.

"My dear Lady," Sirius began, his voice raspy from disuse, "Wouldn't you let this one slide, just once… I remember you thought very fondly of me when I was at school. Do you remember? I was just hoping to pop up and see the common room once more, what do you say?"

She glared at him, "No password; no entrance. That's the rule." She said hotly.

'Blast, I'm so close!', Sirius thought angrily, fury surging through him.

The bloody rat was right there, right on the other side of that door. And he couldn't get in. He slammed his fist on the portrait in fury. "Let me in!" he demanded, but the fat lady just watched him rage, wide eyed and frightened. Sirius continued to beat and scratch at the painting, finally slashing it several time with his large knife. As he drew it the fat lady screamed and dove into the painting next to her. Again and again he cut and torn at the painting, hoping that he could force the door to open.

The fat lady was running now, up the stairs through the portraits, screaming and crying as loud as ever. Crookshanks clawed Sirius' leg to get his attention, clearly telling him to run. Sirius bolted, diving down the stairs as he changed into the grim, Crookshanks at his heels. Looking back Sirius could see the fox just sitting there, calmly watching him flee. Almost… sorrowfully? But surely not, that was an odd emotion to see on the face of an animal. Sirius dove through the secret passageway just as students started emerging onto the marble staircase, coming from the feast.

_**Please Keep up the Amazing Reviews!**_


	8. Chapter 7

**Thanks to those who reviewed Chapter Six! Please continue to gorge me on your thoughts and critism!**

**Chapter Seven**

**Quidditch Match**

Professor Dumbledore sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall after the discovery of the Fat Lady's portrait, and they were joined ten minutes later by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked extremely confused.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Professor Dumbledore told them as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall. "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately," he added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important. "Send word with one of the ghosts."

Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, and said, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing..."

One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls; another wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags.

"Sleep well," said Professor Dumbledore, closing the door behind him. The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

"C'mon," Ron said to Harry, Faykan, and Hermione; they seized four sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner. As they settled them down, they were joined by Draco, who strode over from the group of Slytherins.

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Draco whispered as he dropped his sleeping bag next to Faykan's.

"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," said Faykan.

"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," said Hermione as they all climbed fully dressed into their sleeping bags and propped themselves on their elbows to talk. "The one night we weren't in the tower..."

"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run," said Ron. "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."

"Unless…" Faykan muttered. Harry looked at him anxiously, but he shook his head.

All around them, people were asking one another the same question: "How did he get in?"

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate," said a Ravenclaw a few feet away, "Just appear out of thin air, you know."

"Disguised himself, probably," said a Hufflepuff fifth year. "He could've flown in," suggested Dean Thomas.

"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read Hogwarts, A History?" said Hermione crossly to Harry and Ron, while Faykan and Draco laughed behind their hands.

"Obviously…" Draco said sarcastically.

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering that still filled the hall, Harry felt as though he were sleeping outdoors in a light wind.

Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the hall to check that everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when many students had finally fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore came in. Harry watched him looking around for Percy, who had been prowling between the sleeping bags, telling people off for talking. Percy was only a short way away from Harry, Ron, Faykan, Draco and Hermione, who quickly pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" asked Percy in a whisper.

"No. All well here?"

"Everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow."

"And the Fat Lady, sir?"

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."

Harry heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps. "Headmaster?" It was Snape. Harry kept quite still, listening hard. "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?"

"All searched."

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" asked Snape.

Harry raised his head very slightly off his arms to free his other ear,

"Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next."

Harry opened his eyes a fraction and squinted up to where they stood; Dumbledore's back was to him, but he could see Percy's face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profile, which looked angry.

"Might it be possible, Headmaster… I don't recall seeing Undol at the feast, or perhaps the, ah… other person we discussed when you appointed…"

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. "I must go down to the dementors," said Dumbledore. "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" asked Percy.

"Oh yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am Headmaster."

Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, watching the headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face; then he too left.

Harry glanced sideways at his friends. They all had their eyes open too, and they were all staring at Faykan, who was watching Dumbledore leaving the Great Hall.

"Fay," Harry began softly, "Where were you during the feast anyway?"

Faykan looked back at him, his blue eyes sparkling with the reflected light from the enchanted ceiling, "I was in our training room… studying…"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus slumped into his office chair, releasing a repressed shudder. He had just come back from informing the dementors that Sirius Black was no longer in the castle. Thankfully, there was a steaming cup of hot chocolate waiting for him on his desk, which he drank greedily from; how he hated the dementors. In Albus' mind, they were the epitome of the darkness that he sought to combat, and yet the Ministry sought to use these creatures, as if they could extend any means of control over them.

Albus shook his head sadly at the thought, and turned back to the book he had recently acquired from the restricted section. Snape had given him a very important clue, Albus thought, to the mystery of one Mr. Faykan Undol. The book: 'Creatures of Utter Darkness' helped slightly to describe the being that Professor Lupin had witnessed Faykan's boggart become. Severus had given the final clue, their name that he had found in a potion's book of all places; Nazgûl.

Albus bent over the book to read the frighteningly short entry:

'_The Nazgûl; Nine beings, rendered little more than phantoms wandering the plains of the physical world, are probably considered one of the most deadly and powerful dark creatures that ever walked the Earth. They are invisible to both muggle and wizard alike; if not for the black robes they wear to mark their path across our world. There have only been accounts of nine of these beings to ever exist, although the possibility of more is not impossible. Their main weapon is fear itself, along with the poison that permeates their physical weapons, which if not healed can cause the victim to become a wraith, similar to themselves but completely under their control. It is noted that according to legend that these beings are the original creators of dementors. Close or prolonged encounters with a Nazgûl is said to cause unconsciousness and nightmares, an effect known as 'the Black Breath.' The only known cure for this condition seems to be the herb Athelas, or Kingsfoil as it is more commonly known...'_

Albus sighed, there was little here to work with. This book confirmed that a Nazgûl had caused the wound on Faykan's chest, and the boggart's appearance confirmed that the boy had probably encountered one, but that simply led to many more questions. Where in the world did the boy encounter such a being, and how did he survive? Unless…

Albus pulled out a parchment and started to write all the things he had discovered about Mr. Undol since he had arrived at Hogwarts two years ago, looking for connections, oddities, anything…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

The school talked of nothing but Sirius Black for the next few days. The theories about how he had entered the castle became wilder and wilder; Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, spent much of their next Herbology class telling anyone who'd listen that Black could turn into a flowering shrub.

The Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and replaced with the portrait of Sir Cadogan and his fat gray pony. Nobody was very happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords, which he changed at least twice a day.

"He's a complete lunatic," said Seamus Finnigan angrily to Percy. "Can't we get anyone else?"

"None of the other pictures wanted the job," said Percy. "Frightened of what happened to the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one brave enough to volunteer." Faykan snorted loudly, mentioning to Harry that it was more likely foolishness than bravery.

Sir Cadogan, however, was the least of Harry's worries. He was now being closely watched. Teachers found excuses to walk along corridors with him, and Percy Weasley (acting, Harry suspected, on his mother's orders) was tailing him everywhere like an extremely pompous guard dog. To cap it all, Professor McGonagall summoned Harry into her office, with such a somber expression on her face Harry thought someone must have died.

"There's no point hiding it from you any longer, Potter," she said in a very serious voice. "I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius Black…"

"I know he's after me," said Harry wearily. "I heard Ron's dad telling his mum. Mr. Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic."

Professor McGonagall seemed very taken aback. She stared at Harry for a moment or two, then said, "I see! Well, in that case, Potter, you'll understand why I don't think it's a good idea for you to be practicing Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only your team members, it's very exposed, Potter…"

"We've got our first match on Saturday!" said Harry, outraged. "I've got to train, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall considered him intently. Harry knew she was deeply interested in the Gryffindor team's prospects; it had been she, after all, who'd suggested him as Seeker in the first Place. He waited, holding his breath.

"Hmm..." Professor McGonagall stood up and stared out of the window at the Quidditch field, just visible through the rain. "Well... goodness knows, I'd like to see us win the Cup at last... but all the same, Potter... I'd be happier if a teacher were present. I'll ask Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions."

Harry, Ron, Draco, and Hermione spent more and more time in the Room of Requirement with Faykan, just to avoid the push of people trying to watch Harry. Ron and Hermione kept practicing their weapons and spell casting, supervised by Faykan and Draco, while Harry worked on homework, read from his books, or simply watched his friends as they trained.

The day before the Quidditch match, they were relaxing in the sitting area of the room, and Faykan stood to speak, "It is time for me to prepare you all for the more advanced skills that I want to teach you." Hermione looked up from her book, while Ron pumped his arm in the air triumphantly.

Harry waited, eager to hear what Faykan was talking about.

"But," he said, which caused Ron to pause, "before I can teach you anything, you all need to learn Occlumency; the art of shielding one's mind."

"Why?" Draco asked, looking perplexed.

"Because, if… certain people… discovered what I was teaching you, they would stop at nothing to prevent you learning it. Therefore, to hide what you know, all four of you need to learn to cloud your minds from intruders."

Faykan motioned for them all to gather around the table, where the black orb was still sitting, covered in its cloth. "To help you all learn it easier than others had, I will be using the _Palantír_, in conjunction with my own abilities." Faykan pulled the cloth away, revealing the black orb with its silver grey clouds spiraling within. Hermione let out a small gasp of awe and Ron's eyes widened dramatically.

"This stone," Faykan explained, "allows users of strong will to look into space and time, and view locations far away. Ancient kings and rulers used it to manage the vast expanses of their territory, or spy on their enemies in times of war." Faykan paused, and looked at each of them in turn. "Over the next few months, I'll take each of you one by one, and use this _Palantír_ to gaze into your minds, showing you how to build defenses from mental attacks; such as possession and legilimency. I will not try to look at your memories, or influence you to do anything you do not wish to. I ask for your trust and permission to do this, because I will not force this upon anyone who is unwilling."

His eyes stopped directly on Hermione. Harry saw her shaking slightly, but slowly nod her agreement. Everyone else followed suit as Faykan's gaze landed on them in turn.

"Very well." Faykan said as he recovered the _Palantír_. "We will begin after the Quidditch match." A clock chimed somewhere in the room, signaling that it was time for them to get to their classes. They all collected their things and hurried out the door. Harry saw Hermione cast a last look toward the table with the _Palantír_, before she closed the door and hurried after them.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Sirius shivered in the cold wind as he stalked through the trees on the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. Crookshanks was supposed to bring him some information soon, but he had felt the dementors pass several hours ago, and he knew they were going to patrol back soon.

Looking up at the overcast sky, Sirius panted unhappily. He had no idea what time it was anymore. Some time in the early morning, if his guess was right. He was itching to try and enter the castle again, try and attack Peter, and avenge James and Lily. But it was too soon, and he had no means of entering Gryffindor Tower. Hopefully his friend did, and would show up soon with good news.

Lightning flashed, and Sirius saw the outline of a smaller animal making its way towards his hiding place. 'Good', Sirius thought, 'Crookshanks at last.' Something was off about how his friend was acting though. He was weaving slowly toward him, pausing to listen as if he was worried he would be followed. During the next flash, Sirius saw that the body moving toward him wasn't the fire orange of Crookshanks… it was jet black. Eyes stared through the gloom, boring right into Sirius; bright blue eyes that shown with dazzling clarity. The same blasted fox that he had seen near Gryffindor Tower ambled up to him, seeming tiny with its fur matted against its body. The fox looked at Sirius, craning its head slightly as it entered the dry patch between the trees.

Sirius gaped at the animal, his tongue lolling out, as it slowly changed into a young boy, no older than thirteen. 'The same age as Harry,' Sirius thought as the boy shuddered at the sudden loss of his warm fur. Wrapping his arms around his body he sat against the tree, using it as a shield between himself and the wind and rain, as he studied Sirius.

"I've shown you my secret Sirius Black, now you may show me yours," he said calmly.

Sirius started to panic; this boy knew he was an animagus. Backing away slightly, he only stopped when he boy spoke again. "I'm Harry Potter's best friend Sirius; you have nothing to fear from me."

Sirius considered his options, on one hand, this boy clearly didn't fear him and probably meant him no harm, but on the other hand, the dementors would be back soon. Casting discretion to the wind, Sirius stepped forward and changed back into his human form. "What do you want?" He said gruffly. The boy merely smiled, his calm eyes continuing to pierce right through Sirius' body.

"To inform you of Crookshanks delay, and that he was unable to find other ways into Gryffindor Tower."

Sirius cursed, but the boy continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Also, I want to inform you that Harry will be playing Quidditch tomorrow against Slytherin. He's Gryffindor's seeker, youngest one in a century at Hogwarts."

Sirius smiled at this news. He had watched some of Harry's practices and he was so proud of how well the boy could fly. But he had to focus on the matter at hand, "Why?" he asked.

"Because I believe that you are innocent, and as Harry's friend I must do everything in my power to make him happy. You being free will definitely accomplish that, after he learns who you are and what you represent to him." The boy replied with a shrug.

"But…" Sirius began before being cut off by the boy again. 'Honestly, he's just like Lupin used to be.' Sirius thought fondly. "I want to help you, but I need to know your side of the story Sirius. Let me help you…"

Sirius sighed, thankful that there was at least some deity out there that still cared about him by sending this boy to help him save Harry…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Five minutes into the game, Draco was soaked through and felt like he was frozen to his broom. Casting a quick glance over to Harry, who was squinting around for the Snitch, Draco noticed that his friend looked no worse off then he felt. He swerved back and forth, trying to see through the dense rain and wind to see a slight glimmer of gold. The wind was howling, and it drowned out the commentary to the point where Draco couldn't tell what the score was.

Someone called for a timeout, judging by the sharp whistle from Madam Hooch. Draco landed and started to shiver violently. Flint informed him that Gryffindor was up by fifty points, and that Draco needed to get the Snitch as fast as possible. Peering across the pitch, Draco could see Faykan and Hermione trying to help Harry who was shivering just as bad as Draco. Faykan passed by him on his way back to the stands at the end of the timeout, and Draco smiled, feeling the silent, wandless warming charm immediately take affect.

Full of fresh determination, Draco urged his broom through the turbulent air, staring in every direction for the Snitch, avoiding a Bludger, and skimming over Harry. Draco turned, looked at Harry for a second, and then saw it; the glint of the Snitch. He sped after it and heard the Gryffindor captain yell at Harry, warning him of Draco's movement.

Draco urged his broom faster, if he could just get to the Snitch first… but then something very odd happened. Harry, who was neck and neck with Draco now, widened his eyes in horror. An eerie silence had fallen across the stadium. The wind, though as strong as ever, was forgetting to roar. It was as though someone had turned off the sound, as though Draco had suddenly gone deaf.

Then a horrible wave of cold swept over him, and he became aware of many things gliding over the field below the speeding seekers.

At least a hundred dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at the two seekers, were standing beneath them. Draco screamed, and dived forward, feeling something slam into his fist as he stared, wide eyed, as Harry slumped over and fell off his broom and into the mass of black cloaked dementors.

Then two booming voices, both sounding great and terrible at once sounded together.

"_Aresto Momentum!_" sounded the first while the other cried, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

Draco's eyes snapped downward. Harry's fall had slowed considerably, and a large silver bird had erupted from the stands, soaring upward and barreling into the nearest dementor, scratching it with talons and beak. Draco spun around to get a good look at it; it was a giant eagle. The dementors were fleeing from the great bird of prey as it dove and slashed at each in turn, driving them away from Harry.

Something fluttered in Draco's hand and he looked to find the Snitch clutched in his fist…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Madam Pomfrey had thrown out the Gryffindor Quidditch after ten minutes of them visiting Harry, but Hermione, Ron, and Faykan remained, moving closer to Harry when she turned to them. She sighed and closed the door to her office to block out their conversation.

Harry groaned, Slytherin had won the match, only by around fifty points but a defeat was still a defeat. As if reading his thoughts Ron spoke up, "Draco tried to get them to have a rematch, but he said Flint wouldn't hear of it. He threatened to kick Draco off the team if he didn't accept the win."

"Dumbledore was really angry," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Faykan whirled his wand at the dementors at the same moment. He conjured a silver eagle to attack them. They left the stadium right away... Dumbledore was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him…"

"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher," said Ron. "And walked up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were…"

His voice faded, but Harry hardly noticed. He was thinking about what the dementors had done to him... about the screaming voice. He looked up and saw his three friends watching him anxiously.

"Did someone get my Nimbus?"

All three of them looked quickly at each other.

"Err…"

"What?" Harry asked in confusion, looking from face to face.

"Well... when you fell off, it got blown away," said Hermione hesitantly.

"And?"

"And it hit… it hit… oh, Harry… it hit the Whomping Willow."

Harry's insides lurched. The Whomping Willow was a very violent tree that stood alone in the middle of the grounds.

"And?" he said, dreading the answer.

"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," said Faykan. "It doesn't like being hit."

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around, said Hermione in a very small voice.

Slowly, she reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten, broomstick.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione headed to the Room of Requirement early Sunday morning, hoping to get some early reading in before the scheduled training session with Faykan. He had postponed the Occlumency lessons until Harry was out of the Hospital Wing, stating that it was easier to start teaching them the basics together, but Hermione could tell that he was too worried about Harry to teach them anything new.

As she approached the room, Hermione noticed that the door was already in place on the wall, meaning that someone was already inside. Pushing the door open slowly, Hermione could see that the room was cast in shadows, the only light coming from the lounge area off to the side.

Edging into the room, Hermione could see the silhouette of Faykan, his back to Hermione. She could hear him muttering to himself, but the voice was clearly not his, it was deep and resonant, "_I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae, a han noston ned 'wilith," [1]_. Hermione, now intently curious, moved to stand right beside Faykan, who didn't even notice her presence. He was gazing deeply into the _Palantír_, one hand hovering over the stone.

Glancing down at the stone, Hermione's eyes widened when she saw Harry's face surrounded by the swirling grey mists.

"So... much pain…" Faykan murmured, and Hermione saw tears running down his face. She realized that this was one of the only times she had ever seen the boy openly crying. Gathering her courage, she placed a hand on Faykan's shoulder to return him to reality.

The hand over the _Palantír_ withdrew as she made contact, and slowly Faykan tore his eyes away from Harry's face, turning to face Hermione.

"We all have our secrets," he said slowly, while he placed his opposite hand on Hermione's. "I trust you'll keep mine out of respect for my privacy…"

"You really care about him… don't you…?" Hermione breathed. She had never considered that Faykan dwelt on Harry's wellbeing to the point of obsession.

He smiled slightly, "More than anyone could possibly imagine…"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, even if he had to endure Theodore Nott's taunting. Nott was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom. Nott spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeon, until Faykan sent a stinging hex across the room at him, under the tables. Snape had given him a detention, and also docked twenty five points from Gryffindor.

"If Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off," said Ron as they headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch. "Check who's in there, Hermione."

Snape had been their substitute during their last class, which had disgruntled all of the students because of the ridiculous amount of homework he had assigned.

Hermione peered around the classroom door.

"It's okay!"

Professor Lupin was back at work. It certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats, and they burst at once into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behavior while Lupin had been ill.

"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"

"We don't know anything about werewolves. Two rolls of parchment!"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly.

The babble broke out again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind, he wouldn't listen…"

"…two rolls of parchment!"

Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay."

"Oh no," said Hermione, looking very disappointed. "I've already finished it!"

They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a hinkypunk, a little one legged creature who looked as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless looking.

"Lures travelers into bogs," said Professor Lupin as they took notes.

"You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops ahead, people follow the light, then…"

The hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass. When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, but…

"Wait a moment, Harry," Lupin called. "I'd like a word."

_[1] I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae, a han noston ned 'wilith : The world is changed; I can feel it in the water, I can feel it in the Earth, I can smell it in the air._

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	9. Chapter 8

**Many thanks to those who reviewed Chapter Seven! Im sorry to say that this chapter will mainly be filler, but it is rather nessesary i feel, and i'll strive to release the next chapter earlier to make up for it. So enjoy, and keep the reviews coming!**

**Chapter Eight**

**Hogsmeade**

Two weeks before the end of term, the sky opened up its floodgates and let loose a downfall of dazzling white, leaving the muddy grounds covered in glittering frost in the morning. Inside the castle, Christmas spirit was taking over, holiday cheer heavy in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Draco had come and given both Harry and Faykan their formal invitations to the Malfoy Yule Tide celebration.

Harry wasn't completely happy with the idea. He liked Draco a lot, but he didn't know what to expect from his parents. The only times he had met Lucius Malfoy were in Diagon alley last year and in Professor McGonagall's office didn't leave him completely impressed with the man. He supposed there was no backing out of it since he and Faykan had already agreed to go, so he would just have to watch his back. Faykan had agreed with him on that idea.

To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.

"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!" said Hermione. "Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!"

Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third year staying behind again, Harry borrowed a copy of '_Which Broomstick'_ from Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on the different makes. He had been lucky that Faykan had allowed him to ride his custom broom during team practices, but Harry felt that he definitely needed a new broom of his own.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid goodbye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the marble staircase with Faykan the fox, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.

"Psst… Harry!"

He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one eyed witch.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously. "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here..."

He nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George closed the door quietly after Faykan had slipped in and then turned, beaming, to look at Harry.

"Early Christmas present for you, Harry," he said.

Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, and very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it. Faykan jumped onto the table and sniffed it lightly.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"This, Harry, is the secret of our success," said George, stroking Faykan's fur softly.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last night, your needs are greater than ours."

"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.

"A bit of old parchment!" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain, George."

George explain how they had stolen the parchment out of Filch's office their first year at Hogwarts.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said George. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?"

"Oh yes," said Fred, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're winding me up," said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment.

"Oh, are we?" said George.

He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:

_Messrs. __Moony__, __Wormtail__, __Padfoot__, and Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present_

_THE MARAUDER'S MAP_

They all watched as lines formed on the parchment, mapping out a perfect replica of Hogwarts, and four dots in the classroom they were in; Harry Potter, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and… Faykan Undol. Faykan's name kept shifting, then returning to normal.

"That's odd." said Fred

"The map has never done that before." George added.

"Hey, wait!" Fred said looking from Faykan the fox to the dot on the map.

"That means…" George tailed off as they looked at Faykan in amazement.

"You're an Animagus!" they both cried together.

Faykan jumped off the table and changed back, to the cheers from both twins. "That is so cool Fay!" Fred said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" said George, slapping Faykan on the back good-naturedly.

"Anyway," Fred said, returning to the map and tracing one of the passages, "This one will lead you right into Hogsmeade, right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George, patting the heading of the map. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," said Fred solemnly.

"Right," said George briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly.

"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank."

"So, young Harry," said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourself."

"See you in Honeydukes," said George, winking.

"And you young Faykie," Fred added with a cheeky grin, "Keep up with the surprises."

"We look forward to your future with great interest," said George with a mischievous smile.

They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.

"Well," said Faykan, "That was unexpected…"

Harry stood there, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched the tiny ink Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor. If Filch really didn't know... he wouldn't have to pass the dementors at all...

"Odd, isn't it, how my name is all fuzzy on the map though," Faykan commented, and Harry just nodded absently. He traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger.

Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. Faykan caught him by the arm, and as Harry turned to protest, he felt Faykan press his invisibility cloak into his hand, "Thought it would come in handy to keep this around…" he said.

Harry opened the door it a couple of inches. There was no one outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one eyed witch.

"What do we do?" Faykan asked as they approached the statue. Harry pulled out the map again and saw to his astonishment, that the two ink figures of Harry Potter and Faykan Undol were right standing where they were in reality.

Harry watched carefully. His little Ink self appeared to be tapping the witch with his minute wand. Harry quickly took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked back at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his figure. The word inside said, '_Dissendium_.'

"_Dissendium__!_" Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again. At once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fairly thin person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the map away again, hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed himself forward.

He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide with Faykan right behind him, then landed on cold, damp earth. They stood up, looking around. It was pitch dark. Harry held up his wand, muttered, "_Lumos_!" and saw that he was in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. He raised the map, tapped it with the tip of his wand, and muttered, "Mischief managed!" The map went blank at once. He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, tossed on the Invisibility cloak over him and Faykan, then, hearts beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, they set off.

The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on the uneven floor, holding his wand out in front of him.

It took ages, but Harry had the thought of Honeydukes to sustain him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot, his feet very cold.

Ten minutes later, he came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to climb, Faykan right behind him. A hundred steps, two hundred steps, he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet... Then, without warning, his head hit something hard.

"Harry what was that?" Faykan whispered.

Harry felt around above him. It seemed to be a trapdoor. Harry stood there, massaging the top of his head, listening. He couldn't hear any sounds above him. Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge.

They were in a cellar, full of wooden crates and boxes. Harry and Faykan climbed out of the trapdoor, replaced it, and wrapped the Invisibility Cloak around them tighter. Creeping toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs, Harry could definitely hear voices, as well as the tinkling of a bell and the sound of a door opening and closing.

Someone came down to collect something or other, but Harry and Faykan swept past him and up the stairs and found themselves behind the counter of Honeydukes. Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that it was slightly difficult to maneuver two people through them, but Faykan and Harry managed. They edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry was now.

Harry and Faykan squeezed themselves through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (_UNUSUAL TASTES_). Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them.

"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect," Hermione was saying.

"How about these?" said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose.

"Definitely not," said Harry stepping out of the Invisibility cloak.

Ron nearly dropped the jar.

"Harry!" squealed Hermione, looking around. "What are you doing here? How did you…?"

"Wow!" said Ron, looking very impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"

"Course he hasn't," said Faykan as he pulled the cloak off himself, causing both Ron and Hermione to jump again. Harry dropped his voice to that the nearby sixth years couldn't hear them and explained all about the Marauder's Map.

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" said Ron, outraged. "I'm their brother!"

"But Harry isn't going to keep it!" said Hermione, as though the idea were ludicrous. "He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?"

"No, I'm not!" said Harry.

"Are you mad?" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that good?"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!"

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

"I highly doubt Sirius Black is going to come across this map if Harry keeps it… honestly, you'd think he could walk around invisibly and snatch it from us unawares, give us a break Hermione. We're not that dense." Faykan said rather hotly.

"Yes, but… but…" Hermione seemed to be struggling to find another problem. "Look, Harry and Faykan still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. Professor McGonagall forbade both of them despite having their forms! If anyone finds out, they'll be in so much trouble!"

"Are you going to report us?" Harry asked her, grinning.

"Oh... of course not, but honestly, Harry…"

But Ron had led Harry and Faykan away by the arm to show them the different sweets, so Hermione just fumed silently and followed them around the store. When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside.

Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.

Harry shivered; unlike the other two, he and Faykan didn't have cloaks. They headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind, Ron and Hermione shouting through their scarves.

"That's the post office…"

"Zonko's is up there…"

"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack…"

"Tell you what," said Ron, his teeth chattering, "shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn.

It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlock' up at the bar.

"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he added, going slightly red.

Harry, Faykan, and Hermione made their way to the back of the room where a small, vacant table sat between the window and a handsome Christmas tree next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes later, carrying four foaming tankards of hot butterbeer.

"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.

Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.

A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked.

Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table, while Faykan ducked under from the other side of the table. Dripping with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry threw the Invisibility cloak around himself while Faykan shifted into the large black fox, and they watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar, pause, then turn and walk right toward him.

Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, "_Mobiliarbus__!_"

The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view. Staring through the dense lower branches, Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs If the teachers and minister as they sat down.

Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice. "A small gillywater…"

"Mine," said Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mulled mead…"

"Ta, Rosmerta," said Hagrid.

"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella…"

"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.

"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us..."

"Well, thank you very much, Minister."

Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why hadn't it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers too? And how long were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight... Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch next to him.

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam Rosmerta's voice.

Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?"

I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall exasperatedly.

"Do you think Blacks still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.

"You know that the dementors have searched the whole village twice?" said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my customers away... It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there you are... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore; he won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"

"Hear, hear!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling a foot from the ground.

"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from something much worse... We all know what Black's capable of..."

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity, "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do," said Fudge.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?" "You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured Professor McGonagall.

"Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here… ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him, missing and hitting Faykan the fox in the side, who yelped loudly.

"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course… exceptionally bright, in fact… but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers…"

"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"

"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Worse even than that, m'dear..." Fudge dropped his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble. "Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.

"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.

"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed…"

"Black betrayed them?" breathed Madam Rosmerta.

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it…"

"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him…' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says.

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him.

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd 've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore..."

A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"

"Alas, if only we had," said Fudge bitterly. "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew, another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.

"Hero worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never quite in their league, talent wise. I was often rather, hard with him. You can imagine how I regret that now..." She sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses… Muggles, of course, we wiped their, memories later, told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens..."

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy... foolish boy... he was always hopeless at dueling... should have left it to the Ministry..."

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta," said Fudge thickly. "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement 'Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Blades been in Azkaban ever since."

Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh.

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

I daresay that is his… err, eventual plan," said Fudge evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again..."

There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, he'd better head back up to the castle," said Professor McGonagall.

One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosemerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared.

"Harry?"

Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring in his general direction, lost for words. Faykan had his front paws resting on Harry through the Cloak, preventing him from leaving.

A moment later, Faykan changed and was holding Harry by the shoulders, as Ron and Hermione peeled the cloak off him. "Harry…" Faykan said, but Harry didn't hear him. Why had nobody ever told him? Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, Cornelius Fudge... why hadn't anyone ever mentioned the fact that Harry's parents had died because their best friend had betrayed them?

"Look at me Harry…" Faykan said, shacking Harry slightly to pull him out of his stupor, "We need to get back to the castle. I know you must be in shock about this, but I need you to focus for the time being…"

Together they pulled the Invisibility cloak back over them, bade goodbye to Ron and Hermione, and slipped back through Honeydukes, down the secret passage, and back into Hogwarts…

**_Please Continue to Review!_**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hey there, As promiced Chapter Nine, thx to those who sent me reviews for Eight, easing my worry of its mundane rehashing. Hopefully this chapter will make the wait worth it. Apologies for not getting it out as soon as i promiced, but my beta took extra time to edit it, flying to scotland probably didnt help speed things up either... but without further amendment, on with the story!**

**Chapter Nine**

**Malfoy Manor**

Harry had the worst time trying to sleep that night. He lay on his four-poster and stared at the canopy ceiling for what felt like hours as hatred such as Harry had never known before coursed through him like poison. He could see Black laughing at him through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted his picture over his eyes. He watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand pieces. He could hear (though having no idea what Black's voice might sound like) a low, excited mutter. "It has happened, My Lord... the Potters have made me their Secret-Keeper," and then came another voice, laughing shrilly, the same laugh that Harry heard inside his head whenever the dementors drew near.

From the bed to his left, Harry heard the sound of rustling bed sheets and parting curtains. A few seconds later, Faykan poked his head through Harry's curtains, "Harry," he whispered, "you awake?"

Harry didn't want to talk to his friend at the moment, but Faykan didn't give him the opportunity to react before he slid onto the bed along side Harry. He cast a silencing spell around the bed, and after a few moments, Faykan finally spoke again, "I know what you must be thinking Harry, but you shouldn't trust what the Minister believes is the truth. The Ministry only believes what it wants to believe, and the Professors don't know what happened that night. Not even Dumbledore knows exactly what took place."

Harry turned slowly to look at Faykan, who was sitting with his back against the headboard, staring down into his lap. "I believe," Faykan said, "that they all have made mistakes before, and that they will make them in the future. I also believe, Harry, that they are completely and utterly wrong about Sirius Black… I cannot prove it, I cannot explain it; I just know that they are wrong about him." Faykan finally looked at Harry, and Harry saw the deep sadness that permeated from his crystal blue eyes. Sitting up, Harry eased back against his headboard, and rested his head on Faykan's shoulder, while his friend ran a hand through Harry's hair comfortingly. "I only want you to think for yourself about this Harry, don't merely rely on what others think or believe, not even me. Trust yourself above all others."

Faykan finally turned and kissed the crown of Harry's head, then made to slip off the bed and back to his own, but Harry stopped him, not wanting to lose the comfort that Faykan's presence represented. Faykan just nodded and allowed Harry to pull him back onto the bed. He settled down under the covers next to Harry, and Harry felt one arm snake around his waist as Faykan maneuvered into a comfortable position. Harry fell asleep listening to the rhythmic breathing and heartbeat of his best friend, relishing the odd peace that the closeness brought to him.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione was up bright and early the first day of the winter holidays. She had a lot of homework to accomplish for her many classes, and she was only to use her Time-Turner for attending classes. So she had taken to waking up early during weekends to study and get her work finished.

She had just set out all her books, parchment, and quills when Ron came tiptoeing down the boy's staircase and motioned her to come over to him. "You have to see this," he whispered when she came over. Ron led her back up to the third year boy's dormitory, and pushed open the door slowly, he pointed over toward Harry's bed, where the curtains were drawn closed around it, unlike any of the other beds. Hermione crept over to the bed, confused and curious as to why Ron was so intent on her seeing whatever was in Harry's bed. 'This better not be a prank,' she thought as she pulled back the curtains. What she saw almost made her laugh out loud, but she managed to restrain herself.

Both Harry and Faykan were asleep in Harry's bed, Harry curled up against Faykan, who had his arms wrapped tightly around his best friend. Hermione wished she had a camera or Colin Creevey around for this moment, it was so adorable. It was pretty obvious that Harry had been having a hard time coping with the news that he had overheard at Hogsmeade. Both Hermione and Ron had watched him the rest of that day, but his mood hadn't seemed to improve during dinner, and he went straight to bed afterward without talking to anyone. Clearly Faykan had moved to comfort his friend in the middle of the night, and by the relaxed way that Harry was sleeping, it had definitely helped.

Quietly, Hermione reclosed the curtains and rejoined Ron in the common room. He was pulling out a box of sweets that Fred and George had left for him, but looked up when Hermione sat down in front of her homework. "So, imagine my surprise when I go to wake up my best mates and find them in bed together…" he said, suppressing a small laugh.

"I think it was a very nice thing for Faykan to do, consoling Harry like that in the middle of the night." Hermione said, mentally scolding Ron for his ignorance of the kind of pain Harry must have been going through.

"Well, maybe," Ron said, returning to his Peppermint Toads, "but I can certainly say it was quiet a shock at first; not something that I would have expected to find."

They talked together for a few more hours, and finally went to breakfast without the two sleeping boys. They returned to the common room and Ron pulled out his homework, while Hermione started to study her Ancient Runes book. Finally before lunch, Harry and Faykan came downstairs, still in their pajamas and rubbing sleep from their eyes. "Morning…" Hermione said to them without looking up. She had made Ron promise to not mention that they had both seen them sleeping together during breakfast, as he was inclined to tease them about it for the rest of their natural lives.

"Harry, you look better than yesterday." Ron said, and it was true. Harry was a lot calmer and much less withdrawn. Harry grumbled something unintelligible and sank onto one of the couches near the fire. Faykan stretched and pulled an armchair next to Hermione so he could look at all the work she had completed.

"Where is everyone?" said Harry.

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" said Ron, still watching Harry closely. "It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to come and wake you up in a minute." He threw a grin at Hermione, who scowled at him for his lack of tact. Both Harry and Faykan had flushed slightly, and for a moment Hermione had wondered what had transpired when they awoke, but she quickly cast the thought aside and focused on her book.

"Harry, listen," said Ron, exchanging a look with Hermione, "you must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, you mustn't go doing anything stupid."

"Like what?" said Harry. From his tone Hermione guessed that he and Faykan had already discussed something similar to this the previous night, and again she found herself grateful that the boy cared so deeply for Harry.

"Like trying to go after Black." said Ron sharply. Harry exchanged a look with Faykan, who merely shrugged and returned his attention to the pile of work Hermione had completed. After a few moments of tense silence, Harry answered, "No, I won't go looking for Black. But if he does find me, I want to find out the truth."

"The truth?" Ron said, confused. "You know the truth Harry, Black betrayed your parents to You-know-who. He practically killed them himself. Then he went to Azkaban after blowing up Pettigrew, finally escaping to come after you!"

"Perhaps," Harry responded, looking at Faykan thoughtfully, "but perhaps the truth is not what the Ministry believes." There was a silence in which Crookshanks stretched luxuriously flexing his claws. Ron's pocket quivered.

Ron looked like he was readying himself to push the argument, but Faykan interrupted, "Ron, drop it, it's nearly Christmas. Let's go visit Hagrid or something…"

"Yes, let's visit Hagrid." Harry said, sitting up.

"No!" Hermione interrupted. Why were boys so intent on doing the most dangerous things they could possibly do? "Harry, you're not supposed to leave the castle, remember?"

But none of the three boys were listening to her, and sighing in resignation; Hermione went to collect her cloak and followed them out of the common room.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus frowned for what felt like the hundredth time in less than twenty four hours. He had been spending almost all of his free time over this holiday break pouring over many different notes and memories about Faykan Undol, struggling to find something, anything that would hint as to who he was, and much more importantly, why he was so insufferably intertwined with Harry Potter.

It was clear to Albus; the boy was definitely a threat to his hold over Harry. Faykan contained powers that many grown wizards didn't, and he was merely a child, possibly. An animagus at eleven, the incident with the troll on Halloween, his being a trained Occlumens, the Patronus he conjured just before the holidays started. The boy's power might even contend his own, if it didn't already. To say that Albus was worried was a major understatement. If he lost Harry from his control in any fashion, the entire wizarding world could crumble to dust around him. Harry was the key to defeating Voldemort; the prophecy clearly defined that, and this boy, this boy who was closer to Harry than any other living person, could so easily upset the careful balance that Albus had placed to guide Harry to his destiny.

Turning from his long list of Faykan's abilities, Albus regarded the pensieve that contained his and many of the other teacher's memories about Mr. Undol. He bent forward, intent on examining the first time he had seen this boy, the sorting ceremony two years previous.

Albus sank into the depths of the memory, landing in the Great Hall next to his two-year-younger self, seated in the high back chair of the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Albus watched himself for a moment, remembering the calmness he had felt knowing that Harry was coming to Hogwarts that year, and that he could start influencing the boy's path more directly.

The doors to the entrance hall opened, revealing Professor McGonagall and the twin lines of first years as they filed into the hall. Albus spotted Faykan immediately, the only child who didn't look utterly terrified, walking between Harry and the Malfoy boy, chatting animatedly to the pair of them. Albus watched them intently, and noticed the fine strings of magic wafting from Faykan and encircling both boys beside him. The streams of magic were so subtle that Albus doubted anyone had even noticed that day. The boy was clearly using magic mixed with his words of encouragement to keep his friends calm during the sorting.

Albus watched as the Malfoy boy was called up and immediately sorted into Slytherin, and Faykan nodded to himself as young Draco moved to sit at the emerald green table. Minutes later, Harry was called and set into Gryffindor, and again the boy nodded as if it was all going as he had suspected.

"_Undol, Faykan!_" McGonagall finally called, and the boy confidently walked forward and let her drop the sorting hat upon his head.

Albus moved up to kneel right in front of the child, listening to the faint murmurings of the sorting hat. He couldn't hear anything, as the hat was clearly speaking inside Faykan's mind, but the boy was clearly agitated by whatever conversation he was having despite all efforts to mask his emotions. Truthfully he was indeed performing a masterful job of shrouding, Albus conceded, but if one looked close enough, the tense lines in his jaw and the way his fingers were curled into fists gave away all pretense.

"_SLYTH…_" the hat started to call, and Albus saw Faykan's jaw open for a mere second before clenching in unmistakable fury, which caused the hat to go silent once again. Everyone in the room stared, but none of them would see the way the boy's hands were shaking, as the boy tried to contain his rage.

Finally, after the longest time a sorting had ever taken, the hat cried out exasperatedly "_Fine you stubborn boy, GRYFFINDOR!_" Albus watched Faykan wrench the hat off his head in triumph, and carelessly drop it back onto the stool. Albus gaped as the boy made his way to sit by Harry; how had he not noticed it before. The boy was the spitting image of his father… and grandfather, both of which Albus had seen at Hogwarts years ago. Everything, his posture, his features, everything about the boy was exactly the same as his supposed ancestors. But that was impossible, even people who looked exactly like one parent or the other had at least some features of both parents, like Harry looking exactly like James except for his mother's eyes. But not Undol, it was as if he was copied directly from his father… or… or he _was_ his father…

Albus pulled out of the memory with a jolt, how in three years had he never considered… Of course this theory would take time for him to unravel and test and he would need Severus' help, as he had many more memories about the elder Faykan Undol from years before.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry gazed across the table holding the _Palantír_ at Faykan, his eyes reflecting the swirling mists contained in the orb. Faykan had just finished his first lesson of Occlumency with Ron and Hermione, and was now preparing to do the same for Harry. Hermione had picked up the concept quickly, as usual, while Ron had taken a longer time to figure out the methods Faykan was instructing. Draco was not with them, as he had gone home for the holidays to help with the Yuletide celebration that Harry and Faykan were attending Christmas day, their invitations were to come later that week.

"Whenever you're ready Harry…" Faykan said soothingly. Harry took a deep breath, and cleared his mind of thoughts as Faykan had instructed them all over the last several weeks. Finally, he nodded his consent, and Faykan leaned to stare into the _Palantír_, "Alright then… _Legilimens_."

Faykan's eyes went blank just as Harry felt a cool breeze slip around his head, throwing him into a different world entirely. Memories swirled around him, his memories, free and wild through a long flat plain that felt so comfortable and normal to Harry. "_We're inside your mind now._" sounded a voice behind him. Turning, Harry saw Faykan standing there, gazing intently at Harry and completely ignoring the swirling bands of memory. Faykan spoke again, and his voice wavered between what Harry was used to hearing, and something that sounded much older; wiser and much deeper, "_And it seems to be in the condition I expected it to be._"

'Where to begin?' Harry wondered, and was surprised when his voice sounded in his mind for Faykan to hear.

"_Quite simply Harry, we start with dividing off a portion of your mind… As I have done with Hermione and Ron, we simply need to shroud a portion of your mind to store the things I teach you in, leaving the rest untouched so that anyone trying to invade your mind will not become suspicious_."

Faykan pulled a wand from his robes, and waved it in a complicated pattern, uttering words that Harry couldn't hear or understand. Fog started to pour out of his wand, coating a large section of the plain of Harry's mind. "_Now Harry, I need you to focus on this fog bank, allow it to inhabit your mind. Accept it, and form your thoughts around it. I'll do the rest_."

Harry concentrated on moving his free flying memories and thoughts to encircle Faykan's fog bank, entwining it into his own mind. The flying colors and images obeyed his every command without resistance, twisting themselves around the fog, shielding it from sight.

"_Good job Harry, very well done. Even Hermione had difficulty controlling her thoughts and emotions in that manner. Next, you need to place all the memories of our lessons and whatever else you want to keep hidden within the fog bank. Finally we will together ward it to keep out intruders_."

Harry did so, and watched as every memory that contained Faykan sink into the mists, along with quite a few memories of life with the Dursleys, and several events from the last two years of Hogwarts. They all meshed and swirled just beyond the bank of clouds, hidden from view.

Faykan lifted his wand again, "_Tinechor i' rina tuulo' elea_," _[1]_ he chanted, moving his wand in a six pointed pentagram, which was etched over the cloud bank in blue lights. They glowed for a moment before settling into the mist. Faykan repeated the spell again, and again, moving around the protected area in a long, slow circle.

When he'd finished, Faykan looked over the defenses nodding to himself. "_And finally, as an extra precaution_," he pointed his wand at himself, "_kirma en' amin yamen' vee' vakha_."_[2]_ Faykan glowed bright gold, and a perfect copy of himself stepped forward into the mist, leaving another Faykan standing where he was, smiling to himself.

"_What was that?_" Harry asked, surprised.

"_Just a nasty surprise if anyone manages to break into this vault of memories, I've done the same with both Ron and Hermione, as I will with Draco after the holiday_."

Harry nodded, still slightly confused. He understood part of what Faykan had done, finally reaching a point where he could listen and comprehend elvish, but there were still many words that eluded him as to their meaning. Harry wasn't completely sure if it was a good idea for Faykan to place parts of himself in four different people, however real they were or not.

Once again, Faykan turned and smiled at him knowingly, "_Don't fret Harry, the Guardians will only activate if they are needed, therefore they won't drain me of my power or concentration unless you all are mentally attacked simultaneously, which is highly unlikely to happen…_"

And at once, Faykan vanished from Harry's mind like a brush of wind. Harry came back to himself, still sitting across the table from Faykan as his eyes refocused and he pulled away from the _Palantír_. "Well, that's three out of four. We'll be able to start the advance lessons after the break I think." Faykan said turning to look at Ron and Hermione, who were still practicing dueling spells on the other side of the room.

"Now you three need to remember to continue practicing clearing your minds, nightly would be the best, and consciously move new memories that you want protected into the mist vaults. It will do us no good if you don't actively use them…" he said with a small chuckle.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Sirius paced the inside of the Shrieking Shack, waiting for Mr. Undol to arrive. He had sent Crookshanks to deliver a message to the Gryffindor boy, telling him that Sirius wanted to speak with him, and how to reach the Shack from the grounds.

That was nearly an hour ago, and Sirius was starting to lose his patience. The Shack groaned as he walked across a weakened plank for what seemed like the hundredth time. His mind traveled back to Peter, still hiding comfortable in Gryffindor Tower, so close to Harry, and his blood boiled. The traitor! How dare he be so close to James' son! How dare he betray his friends and then crawl into the perfect place to finish what he had started! Sirius kicked a chair, sending it crashing against the wall in pieces.

"Whatever the chair did, I'm sure it's sorry…" drawled a voice from the doorway. Sirius whipped around, but it was only Faykan. The boy seemed to posses uncanny abilities at stealth when he wanted to. "So," the boy continued, sitting on the moth eaten bed in the corner of the room, "what did you wish to speak with me about."

"Where were you, I sent that note hours ago," Sirius asked, suspiciously. He still didn't trust this boy completely, even with his statement of trust in Sirius.

"I was with Harry and our friends, teaching them skills to keep us all safe, Sirius." The boy responded coolly, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Ah," said Sirius, "Well, I wanted to talk about Harry to be honest." He paused, watching the boy for any sign of distrust at the mention of Sirius wanting to know about Harry. He was aware that the Ministry thought he had escaped Azkaban to kill his godson, and he was appalled that they would think that, but then again, it was the Ministry. Coming to the wrong conclusion was their specialty.

Sirius was pleasantly surprised when Faykan didn't react to his request, but merely started talking about how Harry was, who his friends were, and their adventures the last two years at Hogwarts.

"I saw Harry play Quidditch earlier," commented Sirius, "How is his broom after that accident with the dementors?"

"Destroyed," Faykan said dully, "he hasn't thought about replacing it yet, ever since we snuck into Hogsmeade and he overheard the Minister accusing you of murdering your best friends, that shook him up and I don't think he's thought about his broom since."

Sirius deflated, he hadn't wanted Harry to find out about him in such a manner, "Does he hate me?" he asked quietly. "Not entirely," the boy responded, and Sirius perked up slightly. "I convinced him to use his own judgment and not to rely on what the Ministry or anyone else for that matter has to say." Sirius smiled for the first time since he escaped from Azkaban, Harry didn't hate him entirely, there was a chance for him to fulfill his charge to James and take care of Harry as his godfather.

"I know what I need to do, and I need your help Faykan." Sirius said suddenly. "I want you to draft an unsigned letter to Diagon ally, purchasing the newest, best broom as a gift to Harry, I'll use the gold from the black estate account, and there should be more than enough there. Have it delivered by owl to him on Christmas." Faykan grinned, and pulled out parchment for them to draft the letter. As they wrote out the request for the broom, Faykan said, "I wish you would tell me the truth as to why you are here, if it's not to watch over Harry. There's something, or someone that you are clearly after. I can tell. I wish you would trust me, I could be of so much help to you."

"I can't," Sirius said. He would not involve this young boy in his quest for vengeance, "it is a task for me alone."

"Very well, Sirius, but know that I am here if you change your mind." Faykan said in a slightly defeated tone. With that the boy turned and made his way down the stairs, the letter clutched tightly in his hands.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

On Christmas morning, Harry was woken by Ron throwing his pillow at him.

"Oy! Presents!"

Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, squinting through the semi-darkness to the foot of his bed, where a small heap of parcels had appeared. Ron and Faykan were already ripping the paper off his own presents.

"Another sweater from Mum... maroon again... see if you two got one."

Harry and Faykan had. Mrs. Weasley had sent Harry a scarlet sweater with the Gryffindor lion knitted on the front, and Faykan a deep blue one with a silver eagle, also a dozen home-baked mince pies, some Christmas cake, and a box of nut brittle each. As Harry moved all these things aside, he saw a long, thin package lying underneath.

"What's that?" said Ron, looking over, a freshly unwrapped pair of maroon socks in his hand.

"Dunno..."

Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. Ron dropped his socks and jumped off his bed for a closer look.

"I don't believe it," he said hoarsely.

It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom he, Faykan, and Draco had seen in Diagon Alley. Its handle glittered as he picked it up. He could feel it vibrating and let go; it hung in midair, unsupported, at exactly the right height for him to mount it. His eyes moved from the golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.

"Who sent it to you?" said Ron in a hushed voice.

"Look and see if there's a card," said Harry.

Ron ripped apart the Firebolt's wrappings.

"Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you?"

"Well," said Harry, feeling stunned, "I'm betting it wasn't the Dursleys."

Ron suggested that it was Dumbledore, but Harry shot the idea down, knowing that the old wizard wouldn't spend that much money on a student. Faykan sat quietly on his bed, smiling at Harry and Ron's excitement over the broom, which caught Harry as odd. Faykan usually would have said something by now if he wasn't hiding something.

"Do you know anything about this Fay?" Harry asked.

Faykan raised his eyebrows in surprise, "No, not a clue Harry." he said unconvincingly. Harry smiled, and chose not to press at his best friend's obvious lie.

"What're you three talking about?"

Hermione had just come in, wearing her dressing gown and carrying Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy, with a string of tinsel tied around his neck.

"Don't bring him in here!" said Ron, hurriedly snatching Scabbers from the depths of his bed and stowing him in his pajama pocket.

But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks onto Seamus' empty bed and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebolt.

"Oh, Harry! Who sent you that?"

"No idea." said Harry. "There wasn't a card or anything with it."

To his great surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or intrigued by the news. On the contrary, her face fell, and she bit her lip.

"What's the matter with you?" said Ron.

"I don't know," said Hermione slowly, "but it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, this is supposed to be quite a good broom, isn't it?"

Ron sighed exasperatedly.

"It's the best broom there is, Hermione," he said.

"So it must've been really expensive..."

"Probably cost more than all the Slytherins' brooms put together," said Ron happily.

"Well... who'd send Harry something as expensive as that, and not even tell him they'd sent it?" said Hermione. Harry shot a glance at Faykan, who hadn't reacted at all to Hermione's statement.

"Who cares?" said Ron impatiently. "Listen, Harry, can I have a go on it? Can I?"

"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" said Hermione shrilly.

Harry, Faykan, and Ron looked at her.

"What d'you think Harry's going to do with it… sweep the floor?" said Ron.

But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from Seamus' bed, right at Ron's chest.

"GET. HIM. OUT. OF. HERE!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks' claws ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling with pain.

Crookshanks' fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tint, whistling was filling the room. The Pocket Sneakoscope had become dislodged from Harry's socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor.

"I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down and picking up the Sneakoscope. It whirled and whistled in his palm. Crookshanks was hissing and spitting at it.

"You'd better take that cat out of here, Hermione," said Ron furiously, sitting on Harry's bed nursing his toe.

"Can't you shut that thing up?" Faykan added to Harry as Hermione strode out of the room, Crookshanks' yellow eyes still fixed maliciously on Ron.

Harry stuffed the Sneakoscope back inside the socks and threw it back into his trunk. All that could be heard now were Ron's stifled moans of pain and rage. Scabbers was huddled in Ron's hands. It had been a while since Harry had seen him out of Ron's pocket, and he was unpleasantly surprised to see that Scabbers, once so fat, was now very skinny; patches of fur seemed to have fallen out too

"He's not looking too good, is he?" Faykan commented.

"It's stress!" said Ron. "He'd be fine if that big stupid furball left him alone!"

Harry just shook his head sadly, the problems with Crookshanks and Scabbers were not going to end pleasantly, he just knew it somehow…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Severus watched as the 'Gryffindor Golden Quartet' entered the Great Hall for lunch. He silently cast the Lynx Eye spell that Dumbledore recommended he try the next time he saw the four children, and raised his eyebrows in surprise at what he saw. The auras of the four children were peculiar, well; Grangers and Weasleys were rather ordinary, Potter's was as the Headmaster had orchestrated it to be, powerful yet limited, a block on him accessing his full potential until the right moment that he would need it. But Undol… the deep blue aura radiated off him like fire, spreading across the room to touch everything he encountered, and if Severus wasn't mistaken, there were connections from Undol to his three friends, linking the boy to them. The connections to Weasley and Granger were thin and new, but Potter's was strong and powerful, connecting the two boy's hearts and minds. Severus glanced at Albus, who nodded once, signaling that he too saw this strangeness. They would indeed be discussing this later.

"Merry Christmas!" said Dumbledore as Potter, Undol, Weasley, and Granger approached the single table in the center of the room. "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the House tables... Sit down, sit down!"

The four children sat together at the far side of the table. Aside from the four Gryffindors, Severus, and Albus, there were present Minerva McGonagall, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, Argus Filch, and two terrified first years.

"Crackers!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemakers to Severus, who sighed but took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture. Severus was instantly reminded of the boggart incident, and glared at the hat, shoving it toward Albus, who swapped it for his own immediately. Potter and Weasley sniggered slightly and Severus glared at them.

"Dig in!" Albus advised the table, beaming around.

Severus took the time while digging into his plate of turkey and mash to study the interaction between the Headmaster and Undol. Albus was clearly trying to probe Undol and the other Gryffindors' minds, and with the Lynx Eye spell active, Severus could see the strands of Legilimens flying over the table at the four third years. The rebounded off Undol, as Severus expected, but pierced Potter, Weasley, and Granger easily. The strands wavered around in their minds for a few moments, and then withdrew, and Albus frowned. Something was amiss, clearly, or Albus would have just smiled with those damn twinkles in his eyes as he normally did when he had siphoned something from a mind.

Just as Severus was about to try himself to see what agitated the Headmaster, the doors of the Great Hall opened again. It was Sybill Trelawney, gliding toward them as though levitating. She had put on a green sequined dress in honor of the occasion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized dragonfly.

"Sybill, this is a pleasant surprise!" said Dumbledore, standing up, eager for the distraction of his failed attempt at Legilimens.

"I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster," said Sybill in her mistiest, most faraway fake voice, "and to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness..." Severus rolled his eyes to Minerva, who smiled thinly.

"Certainly, certainly," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Let me draw you up a chair…"

And he did indeed draw a chair in midair with his wand, which revolved for a few seconds before falling with a thud, right in between Severus and Minerva, who both frowned. Sybill made no move to sit, but let out a soft scream as her eyes moved around the table.

"I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!" she said

"We'll risk it, Sybill," said Minerva impatiently. "Do sit down, the turkeys getting stone cold."

Sybill hesitated, then lowered herself into the empty chair, eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit the table. Minerva poked a large spoon into the nearest tureen.

"Tripe, Sybill?"

The Divination teacher ignored her. Eyes open again, she looked around once more and said, "But where is dear Professor Lupin?"

"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again." said Dumbledore, indicating that everybody should start serving themselves. "Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day."

Sybill and Minerva started to snipe at each other about how the Divination teacher should have known about Professor Lupin's illness beforehand, Sybill retaliating with her same idiocy about her knowing, but choosing to ask for the sake of everyone else. Severus shook his head, irritated that he had to work with the woman, when Albus addressed him about the Wolfsbane potion that he had been brewing for Lupin all year.

Severus confirmed that yes he had indeed given Lupin the potion for this cycle of the moon, without actually mentioning those facts because of ignorant students and teachers around them. Only Albus, Severus, Minerva, Filius, and Pomona knew that Lupin was indeed a werewolf. Although Severus suspected that Undol and Granger might be putting the pieces together since he set the essay in the Defense class earlier that term. Potter and Weasley remained oblivious as usual, however. Severus was very disappointed with the boy, he had all the intelligence of his mother, but the brashness of his father clouded his judgment far too often… thankfully he had Undol, Draco, and Granger to guide him, when he bothered to listen to them at least.

Finally, lunch started to come to a close, and Undol rose from the table, followed by Potter and Weasley, clearly to return to Gryffindor Tower and prepare for their evening invitation to Malfoy Manor. Severus had received their invitation in the mail, along with a portkey, which resembled a Christmas bell with the Malfoy crest embossed on the side.

Sybill gasped when Faykan rose however; making all four Gryffindors freeze in surprise. "My poor dear," she moaned, "Such a crime that you shall be the first to die of us thirteen, you have such potential with the gifts of the Inner Eye." She dabbed at her eye with her napkin, while Minerva scoffed, "I highly doubt Mr. Undol will simply drop dead soon Sybill, unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the entrance hall."

Everyone at the table, Sybill and Severus excluded, laughed at that.

Potter asked if Granger was going to join them, but she declined, and the three Gryffindor boys exited, and from the lack of screams, did not meet a bloody and untimely end from any axe wielding murderer.

Hours later, Severus waited in the entrance hall as Undol and Potter made their way down the marble staircase, both wearing dress robes for the Malfoy Yuletide party. Severus said nothing, but simply held out the bell, and after the two boys touched it, they were whisked away by the familiar tug behind their navels.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco stood calmly beside his parents in the front foyer, awaiting the first batch of guests to arrive. Aside from Harry and Faykan, most to all of the remaining guests were Draco's Slytherin classmates and their families, friends of Lucius', or important Ministry officials that had been invited because of their political positions. Draco was turning to sit down when the sound of feet hitting the marble floor reached his ears. He turned back to find Faykan, Harry, and his godfather walking forward from the portkey arrival point. Harry was wearing the emerald green dress robes that he and Faykan had picked for him in Diagon Alley earlier that year, while Faykan's were silver with sapphires sown into the material. Severus wore his typical black robes, but they were fresh ones that Draco new he kept for these kinds of occasions. Both Severus and Faykan bowed in turn to Lucius and Narcissa, and Harry shook hands with Lucius. Narcissa however, pulled Harry into a small hug, and Draco heard her whisper in his hear, "Welcome cousin." Harry raised his eyebrows, and Draco saw Faykan smile as he watched the two interact.

"Draco," Lucius said formally, "Please take your godfather and our honored guests to the ball room and entertain them while your mother and I await our other visitors."

"Yes Father." Draco replied, and he turned to lead his two best friends and his godfather away just as other families started to arrive.

As they walked, Harry told Draco all about the Firebolt that he was sent for Christmas, and how Hermione had gone and told Professor McGonagall about it, who confiscated it to be checked for hexes and jinxes because of Sirius Black. Draco watched as his godfather refrained from attempting to tell Harry off. When they reached the ball room, Severus moved quickly to the other side of the room, as far away from Harry and Faykan as possible, but Draco and his friends were distracted from their Potion Master's behavior by the steady flow of other guests that were lead by house elves.

Most of the new arrivals either sent quick glances at the two Gryffindor boys, or ignored them completely. Theodore Nott and his father openly glared at Harry, but Nott Sr. watched Faykan with what Draco thought was a mix of admiration and fear. Theodore simply smirked at him. Lucius and Narcissa appeared finally, Lucius talking to Cornelius Fudge and a short stout woman with the face of a toad, who was wearing bright pink robes. Draco heard Faykan exhale slightly as Lucius directed this woman and Fudge over to where they all stood.

"Ah and here's Mr. Potter." said Fudge, reaching out to shake Harry's hand, "Yes, you don't know what a fright it gave the Ministry when you just up and vanished this summer. Right after Black's escape. Whole Ministry up in arms until Dumbledore reassured us that you were merely taken to a safer location. Charming man Dumbledore… Oh this is Dolores Umbridge, Senor Undersecretary to the Minister." Fudge added, gesturing to the witch in pink beside him. Umbridge merely eyed Harry with a cold calculating gaze, making no move to shake his offered hand. It made Draco rather nervous. But finally Lucius pulled the Minister away, and the toad faced Undersecretary followed.

Faykan narrowed his eyes at their retreating forms, "Curious how close the Minister is with your father, isn't it Draco?" he said with a touch of sarcasm. Draco frowned; it was true that his father did have rather close ties to the Minister. Given what he had tried to do last year, Draco could only imagine what else Lucius could attempt to have happen.

His thoughts were interrupted as the small orchestra started up a waltz, and Daphne Greengrass came over to ask him to dance. Allowing her to pull him away to the dance floor, Draco snuck back a look at his friends, who were currently also being coaxed into dancing, Harry by Narcissa and Faykan by Mrs. Zabini, Blaise's rather attractive mother. Draco caught Harry's eye as they saw Mr. Nott waltz across the floor with Mr. Yaxley. Harry's expression was priceless, but thankfully Draco's mother bent down and whispered in his ear that in pureblood society, dancing was permitted between partners of any gender. Generally it didn't happen often among the married couples, but single adults, children, or pairs of people who merely wanted to hold a private conversation found it more agreeable than standing in a dark corner hoping no one was trying to eavesdrop.

Harry seemed to accept the explanation, as he returned to making sure he didn't step on Narcissa's feet, which wasn't necessary, as Draco knew his mother was an expert dancer, and could move her feet out of the way before Harry could realize that he was about to step on her. Draco spun his head, only idly listening to Daphne's chatter, and watched Faykan maneuver expertly across the floor with the dark skinned Mrs. Zabini. They were talking softy to each other, probably exchanging pleasantries and other neutral conversation topics, while Blaise watched them as he danced with Daphne's younger sister Astoria. The song ended, and Draco guided Daphne back to a seat by the groups of other people who had not danced yet, and noticed Theo Nott speaking with his father in hushed whispers, but he was dragged away again by Pansy Parkinson, who practically demanded that he danced with her.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Severus watched with a scowl as the second song started up. He had refused Mrs. Greengrass's invitation to dance, owning to him being a chaperone. He took a small measure of pride that that title at least excused him of needing to actively participate in the revelry, as would have been expected if he was an invitee. From the side of the room, he watched his two charges as they danced with several other young people and their parents. Potter seemed only slightly uncomfortable with the pureblood ideas of acceptable dancing, but was doing remarkable for his first actual ball. Undol, not surprisingly, was moving across the room with all the grace that one of his powers could create.

Silently, Severus cast the Lynx Eye spell on himself again, urged to observe the boy's magic at work once more. The bright aura surged and flowed around Undol, feeling around to everything near him while not lingering in one place too long. The only permanent connection that Severus could see was to Potter, the line of magic combining the blue and green auras into a bright gold.

Severus was not the only one watching Undol, he noticed. At one of the small tables of refreshments, he overheard Theodore Nott and his father muttering quietly. "I see what you tried to describe to me last year, Theo." Mr. Nott said to his son, "That boy is definitely far more powerful than anyone imagines. His magic practically sings as it flies off his body."

Severus remembered that the Nott family had the unusual trait of being able to naturally see powerful magical auras.

Theodore smirked as he watched Undol offer to dance with Potter for the third song, "His abilities are wasted with his infatuation with Potter." he sneered, "Perhaps I should be more forceful with my… ah… invitations."

Nott Sr. smiled wickedly at his son, "Perhaps you should Theo. Why don't you start with breaking them up here and stealing some of Mr. Undol's time for yourself?"

Theodore narrowed his eyes as he moved off toward to where Potter and Undol were dancing.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry was, despite some of the awkwardness during the first few dances, starting to enjoy himself as he was led through the fourth waltz of the night by Faykan. He was still unsure about the whole idea of men dancing with other men, but seeing how everyone was perfectly fine with it, he decided not to make a fuss. Not that he was uncomfortable dancing with his best friend; it just was something he had never considered being raised by the bigoted Dursleys.

Faykan was just telling Harry about Mrs. Zabini and her interest in him, mentioning that she might be the safest person in the room next to Draco, having only a train of dead husbands she had outlived, when someone tapped Harry on the shoulder. Turning, Harry came face to face with Theodore Nott, who sneered down at him while playing with one of the rings on his fingers. "May I cut in?" he said coldly, taking Faykan's hand before Harry could object, and forcefully pulling the smaller boy away before picking up the dance, with him leading. Faykan clearly wasn't pleased with the situation, especially with Nott holding him just a bit close for comfort, using his superior height to force Faykan to follow.

Draco came up beside Harry and took his hand, picking up where Harry had left off with Faykan. They turned slightly so they could both watch Nott and Faykan, Draco with the same frown that Harry wore. "Any reason you can think of that would explain why he wants Faykan to be with him all of a sudden?" Draco asked.

Harry shook his head, at a loss of what had just happened. Looking back at the other dancing pair, he could make out through the crowd that Nott was definitely talking to Faykan, but his friend was clearly not interested in the conversation, and was only refraining from pulling away because of the scene it would create with all the other people so close.

Harry couldn't have been gladder when that song finally ended, and Faykan was able to escape Nott and return to them. "What was that about?" Harry asked him immediately, but Faykan merely shook his head, utterly refusing to discuss the event. Harry was about to press harder when the cold voice of Professor Snape sounded behind them, "Despite the wonderful time you both seem to be having, it is finally time to return to the castle. You will both follow me now." Draco waved as Harry passed, and they were bowed out by Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, who continued the party after they turned back from the front foyer and Harry stepped through the fireplace behind Faykan, spinning in the network back to Hogwarts.

_[1] tinechor i' rina tuulo' elea : shield the memory from sight_

_[2] kirma en' amin yamen' vee' vakha : part of myself place as guardian_

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	11. Chapter 10

**Hurray! Treat for everyone! bonus post week! Enjoy my beloved readers, you deserve it for your fanstasmic reviews keeping me in good spirits to continue writing!**

**Chapter Ten**

**Plots and Blocks**

The rest of the Christmas holiday was rather tense, owing to Ron and Hermione. Unlike Harry and Faykan, who had had the distraction of the Malfoy's party to take their minds off the Firebolt being confiscated, Ron was still feeling the sting of it as though it was his own broom being stripped down. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room. The three boys supposed she had taken refuge in the library and didn't try to persuade her to come back. All in all, they were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after New Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy again. Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started.

"Had a good Christmas?" he said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the dementors come to the next one, I mean... we can't afford you to, well…"

Wood broke off, looking awkward.

"I'm working on it," said Harry quickly. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas."

"Ah," said Wood, his expression clearing. "Well, in that case… I really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?"

"No," said Harry.

"What! You'd better get a move on; you know… you can't ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!"

"He got a Firebolt for Christmas," said Ron.

"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A-a real Firebolt?"

"Don't get excited, Oliver," said Harry gloomily. "I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated." And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes.

"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"

"Sirius Black." Harry said wearily. "He's supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it."

Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?" Faykan coughed slightly and looked away, but Wood paid him no mind.

"I know," said Harry, "but McGonagall still wants to strip it down…" Wood went pale.

"I'll go and talk to her, Harry," he promised. "I'll make her see reason... A Firebolt... a real Firebolt, on our team... She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do... I'll make her see sense. A Firebolt..."

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco blinked as he returned from seeing inside his mind. "That was, different…" he said. Draco had some lessons in Occlumency from his godfather, but nothing so simple or all encompassing. Faykan, who was currently grinning across the table at Draco's astonishment, must have special talents with the ability.

Draco looked back at the other three Gryffindors. Ron and Harry were in the center of the room, sparring with the swords conjured from the room, while Hermione was in the back with a pile of books surrounding her. "Now that all of you have the Occlumency shields in place, we must decide what to start on first. I do advise you all, these things will be very difficult and very complex, so you may not be able to make a lot of progress for a few years, but learning the theory at minimum would be valuable."

That started a long debate between everyone. Draco wanted to start with the elvish spells that they had all seen Faykan use, while Hermione wanted to attempt advanced transfiguration, possibly even attempt animagus changes. Ron wanted to learn healing and ward magic, and Harry wanted to be able to cast spells silently, wandlessly, or both.

"Well," Faykan said after everyone made their wishes known, "First off, Draco, elvish magic is not difficult after learning wandless and wordless magic, and very difficult otherwise, so Harry's request would have priority over yours, sorry. Ward magic and healing work marginally off transfiguration, so those two can be learned in conjunction with each other. Wandless magic and wordless magic would be the best staring place, I think, while we also do mid to advanced transfiguration. Animagus forms I don't think you'll be ready for until fourth or fifth year at least. And of course we will be continuing with dueling spells and martial combat."

Ron sighed heavily, "Why do we need to learn to fight like medieval muggles anyway?" he asked.

"It's obvious isn't it," said Hermione, "lots of dark creatures are resistant or immune to magic, and what would you do if your wand was destroyed in the middle of a duel?"

Ron deflated slightly, scowling. He was finally seeing sense, or more likely he was still angry at Hermione about the Firebolt, Draco thought.

Faykan also commented that Harry should still learn the Patronus charm from Professor Lupin, to keep Dumbledore out of the loop of what they were up to. Draco saw Hermione frown at Faykan's wish to keep things hidden from the Headmaster. But she kept quiet as Faykan explained that he would eventually teach the others the spell also, just in case Harry needed help with the dementors.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for the student's enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white hot logs. The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen.

Hermione was growing quite sick of the old frauds rubbish, how she kept praising Faykan, Lavender Brown, and Parvarti Patil of their "Highly developed Inner Eyes." Hermione was growing more and more suspicious that Faykan knew about her Time-Turner, because of all the small time related jokes he would start whenever she used it. Thankfully Ron, Harry, and even Draco remained oblivious to it, allowing her to move from her classes with ease.

The only other thing that greatly bothered her was Faykan's lack of trust towards Dumbledore. Wasn't he supposed to be the great leader of the light, the most powerful wizard in Britain, and the only person He-who-must-not-be-Named was afraid of? It was illogical for anyone to distrust him, unless they had their own hidden agenda that would undermine the causes of Dumbledore… but Hermione couldn't find anything that pointed to Faykan working against the Headmaster, other than their advanced training, but there was nothing wrong with extra learning, right?

Could it possibly be the powerful magical object Faykan had used to shroud their minds; the _Palantír_ as he called it? Hermione would have to investigate it, if it was dangerous, she would definitely be having a long stern talking to the boy.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower with Faykan for the History of Magic classroom. Professor Lupin had chosen it as the place for the dementor lessons. It was dark and empty when they arrived, but Harry lit the lamps with his wand and together they had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binns' desk.

"What's that?" said Harry.

"Another boggart." said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real dementor. The boggart will turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."

"Okay." said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real dementor.

"So..." Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry… well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm." Faykan nodded to himself, smiling.

"How does it work?" said Harry nervously.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus," said Lupin, "which is a kind of anti-dementor, a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor."

Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon: hope, happiness, the desire to survive, but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it." Lupin looked over at Faykan for a moment, "But as you may or may not know, your friend Mr. Undol can conjure one. A Giant Eagle if I wasn't mistaken?" he asked. Faykan nodded once, confirming whatever Lupin meant.

"What does a Patronus look like?" said Harry curiously.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."

"And how do you conjure it?"

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to him at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick.

"Right," he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of his stomach.

"The incantation is this…" Lupin cleared his throat. "_Expecto Patronum!_"

"_Expecto Patronum_," Harry repeated under his breath, "_Expecto Patronum_."

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?"

"Oh, yeah…" said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. "_Expecto_ patrono, no, _Patronum_… sorry, _Expecto Patronum_, _Expecto Patronum_…"

Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.

"Did you see that?" said Harry excitedly. "Something happened!"

"Very good," said Lupin, smiling. Faykan was also smiling, as he crossed to stand behind Professor Lupin, giving Harry a clear field for the boggart "Right, then, ready to try it on a dementor?" Lupin continued.

"Yes," Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding... Any second now, he might hear his mother again... but he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn't want to... or did he?

Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled…

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

It had taken three attempts for Harry to fight off the boggart-dementor. During his second try Faykan had had to intervene and summoned his own Patronus to protect Harry. The final try Harry was able to make enough vapors to keep the boggart-dementor from knocking him unconscious, but not enough to drive it away, which Faykan had to do again. Professor Lupin gave both of them large amounts of chocolate before dismissing them for the evening, encouraging Harry and setting up an appointment for them to continue the following week.

When they returned to the Tower that night, Harry had asked Faykan what memory he used to power his Patronus, causing Faykan to blush bright red and stammer for several minutes before quietly murmuring that it was the day he first met Harry in the park. Harry mentally smacked himself for not thinking of that memory himself; he had been using things like the first time he rode a broom, winning the house cup last year, and finally only succeeded with the memory of Faykan telling him that he was a wizard, and coming to Hogwarts, leaving the Dursleys. Then Harry's thoughts wandered back to his mother and father...

He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full of chocolate. All three times, he had heard his mother pleading with Voldemort not to kill him, and on the horrible second attempt, he had even heard his father, James, yell for Lily to take Harry and run. Terrible though it was to hear his parents' last moments replayed inside his head, these were the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he'd never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again...

Harry shook the thoughts from his mind as he and Faykan reached the portrait hole and climbed through. Harry distracted himself with thoughts about Quidditch.

Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Wood, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to four a week. This meant that with Lupin's anti-dementor classes, which in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, and the advanced training that Faykan was putting them all through, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Even so, he was showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted.

"How's she doing it?" Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat in the Room of Requirement finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books.

"Doing what?"

"Getting to all her classes!" Ron said. "I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't have been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!"

Harry didn't have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione's impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape's essay. A moment later, Faykan the Fox crept into the room from the Gryffindor side door, and changed immediately.

"Wood is so very annoying; I don't understand how you deal with him Harry. He practically ran me over looking for you, shouting about McGonagall not releasing your Firebolt yet." He said while rubbing his backside, Wood had apparently stepped on him while he was transformed.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Harry replied, unconcerned. Wood was Wood; his fanaticism was something that Harry had adjusted to since his first year on the team. Faykan just rolled his eyes and conjured several targets across the room, blasting each of them in turn with wandless, silent magic. Harry watched, slightly envious; he was very eager to start learning to cast without speaking or using his wand. It would be very handy when Voldemort came for him again, not if but when; Harry had accepted that Voldemort was not going to stop trying to kill him.

Faykan caught Harry watching him, and beckoned him over. Harry glanced at the essay he really should be finishing, and shrugged, stood, and moved to stand next to Faykan, Ron right behind him. Hermione looked up from her book, and contented herself to just watch them with one eye, while working on her homework with the other. Draco came in through the seventh floor entrance, "Hello… Hey! Are you teaching without me!" he whined, running over to join the Harry, Faykan, and Ron in the center of the room, dropping his book bag along the way. Draco had been very adamant about them all being taught at the same time, so they had equal foundations to build on. Harry saw the sense in it, but on the other hand, he really was excited to get started.

"Lucky for you," Faykan said with a grin, "that we were just starting." He turned to Hermione, "Do you want to join us or just watch for now, Hermione?" She simply waved her hand at them, continuing to read her 'Monster Book Of Monsters.' Faykan simply nodded, and turned back to the three boys.

"So, wandless magic; as the name implies, you use your own body as the conduit for your magic instead of an exterior focus. A very powerful adaptation of magic, allowing more flexibility and control. To begin," he waved his hand, and more wooden targets appeared on the far side of the room, one for each of them, Harry noticed that they targets slightly resembled Wood, "You will try to cast the spells you normally would with your wand at these targets. To do so, use your hand to mimic the wand movement, and think the incantation in your mind. Pour your will for the spell to work behind the thought, imagining the effect on the dummy."

He demonstrated on the largest dummy, slashing his hand like a karate chop, and the target splintered with a cutting hex. He waved his hand again, softly, and the dummy repaired itself.

"Eventually you will lose the need for most hand gestures for wandless spells, as well as the need to pour all your thought behind its casting. They will become second nature to cast, even superseding wand spells. Now try a simply _Diffindo_ on the targets, and if you manage to damage them, try to repair the damage and try a new spell."

Harry, Ron, and Draco faced the three smaller targets. Hermione paused, her quill poised over the parchment, as she watched their first attempts. The three boys concentrated, Ron scrunching his face up in the effort. And one by one they slashed their hands through the air. Harry felt a soft breeze whip around him, and hit an invisible wall, preventing his cutting hex from impacting the target very hard, causing only a minor scratch. Ron hadn't managed to cause any effect, but Draco had also caused a small cut on his target.

Faykan patted Ron on the back, muttering "Good attempt, try to envision the dummy being sliced instead of focusing on keeping your mind free of thought." then he turned to Harry and Draco. He nodded at Draco, acknowledging his success, but watched as Harry attempted the spell again. The wind, which Harry realized was his magic, whipped around him and hit the same block, barely marking his target.

"Something keeps blocking my magic!" Harry said, frustrated, as Faykan placed a hand on his shoulder. Faykan closed his eyes, and Harry felt magic swirling around both of them, entering Harry and searching for something.

Moments later Faykan spoke, "There's a block on your magic, a seal that was placed when you were young. It's preventing you from using your magic to its fullest potential, but… there's a massive crack in the ward. It's allowing a tiny amount of your magic to seep slowly from it," he opened his eyes to look at Harry. "Until that seal shatters, you won't be able to do a lot of damage with your wandless magic, but that won't stop you from learning the spells, or using wandless magic for transfiguration or healing."

Harry frowned, who could have put that kind of a block on his magic, and why?

Draco and Ron practiced the cutting hex for twenty more minutes, and Harry used his magic to repair the damage they caused their targets. Finally, Harry knew he really had to get back to the Potions essay, thankfully Draco decided to help him out, which allowed Harry to finish the essay quickly, rather than having to stay up into the night.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus smiled as Severus Snape entered his office. "Ah, Severus. How nice of you to come. Would you care for a Lemon Drop?" he asked, gesturing to a bowl of the yellow sweets on his desk, casually sitting next to a pensieve. "No thank you, Headmaster." Severus said with a slight scowl. 'Pity,' thought Dumbledore, 'I'm so certain that Severus would like these if he just tried one. Maybe I'll slip one into his drink in the Great Hall one day.'

"Why did you summon me Albus?" Severus asked bluntly. He was always rather touchy when he was researching a new potion to brew. Albus was aware that he was experimenting with the _Athelas_ leaves that he acquired from Poppy after Mr. Undol's unfortunate accident in Defense Against the Dark Arts with the boggart.

"Ah, yes, Severus." Albus began slowly. This needed to be done delicately, or Severus might suspect what Albus was beginning to deduce about the young Gryffindor. "I was wondering, Severus, if you would mind allowing me to view several of your memories about Mr. Faykan Undol, not the one you know today, but his father, the one you were learning here with for your first three years."

Severus raised his eyebrows in mild surprise, "Why do you think that the boy's father would have anything to do with the boy himself?"

Albus took a small breath, to simulate an internal struggle for Severus to believe that he was going to reveal potentially dangerous information, "I think that he may have inherited some sort of dangerous object or power that might threaten Harry Potter and all our hopes for the wizarding world."

Whatever Severus had thought was the reason, it certainly wasn't that. "But…" he spluttered slightly before regaining control of himself and settling in a seat across from Albus' desk, "but if he had such a thing, why would he have waited for so long to use it?"

"I do not know Severus, that's why I need your memories of the father, to determine if there's anything he may have tried to hide." Albus knew that lying to Severus was going to be problematic if he ever found out, but Albus was confident that it was for the greater good, to prevent anyone from interfering with the prophecy. Harry must defeat Voldemort. Severus was nodding, and lifted his wand to his temple, once, twice, thrice… twelve times, depositing the silvery strands of memory into the pensieve.

"Thank you for trusting me Severus." Albus said. Severus merely nodded once, and swept from the room, his cloak billowing behind him.

'Now,' thought Albus, 'we may see if Mr. Undol of the nineteen seventies is any different from the Mr. Undol of today.'

With that, Albus leaned into the pensieve, tipping himself into the swirl of Severus' memories about his first friend at Hogwarts.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Severus stalked back down to his private potions lab after his short meeting with the Headmaster, his mind spinning with the information he had learned. Albus suspected Undol of having dark artifacts or powers and possibly the intent to harm Potter.

It could even be possible that Undol had joined forces with Sirius Black in the convict's attempts to murder the boy, Severus had no idea. All he knew was that he would be watching the boy like a hawk for the rest of the term. If he showed even the slightest hint of wanting to harm Potter, Severus would transfigure the boy into ingredients and brew him into poison to use on Black on the spot.

His thoughts of Undol led him back to his small project that he had been working on before Albus had fire-called him. Severus was attempting to see if _Athelas_ could be used as a powerful base for healing potions. If Severus was successful, it would be a breakthrough unheard of in the wizarding world. The only problem he was having was finding possible ingredients to add without diluting the restorative leaves: perhaps essence of dittany, or ground unicorn horn, perhaps even bezoars. Severus had very few leaves to waste in failure, so he had to plan out the potion carefully after studying the magical properties of the plant. That could take the rest of term just in itself.

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Sirius was wandering the roads of Hogsmeade, giving random people the infamous 'doggy eyes' that had won him many meals in the months he had spent in the village. Most people fell in love with the adorable looks and playful attitude of the giant grim dog, after the initial shock of seeing him, and he was living very well off given the circumstances.

Sirius was making his way back to the Shrieking Shack, when he saw a smaller body turn out from an alley and watch him with most familiar blue eyes. Sirius' ears perked, and with his tail wagging, he turned and followed Faykan's animagus form deep into the alley between buildings, transforming only when the boy had laid privacy wards around them.

"Mr. Undol, what a pleasant surprise." Sirius said quietly. He didn't feel safe transformed in the middle of Hogsmeade.

Faykan handed him a piece of parchment. "These are the passwords to the Gryffindor common room for the next week, Crookshanks informed me that you need to get someone in there. He kept going on about a rat, but I'm not completely sure what he meant. I really wish you would let me help you." He looked up pleadingly.

Sirius shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I must do this alone. He must pay…" he stop mid sentence, knowing he had been seconds away from spilling important information.

"Well," the boy responded, ignoring the fact that he was being refused for the twentieth time, "As long as you swear your not going after Harry, I wish you luck in finding whomever it is your trying to find."

With that, they both transformed, and whisked away to the Shrieking Shack, and Sirius watched Faykan continue on back to Hogwarts.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

February came with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn't ordered a new broom, hoping that he would get his Firebolt back. He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of it after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron and Faykan standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face averted.

"No, Potter, you can't have it back yet," Professor McGonagall told him the twelfth time this happened, before he'd even opened his mouth. "We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me."

To make matters even worse, Harry's anti-dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the boggart-dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the dementor away. All it did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear his parents' voices again.

"You're expecting too much of yourself," said Professor Lupin, sternly in their fourth week of practice. "For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?"

"I thought a Patronus would… charge the dementors down or something," said Harry dispiritedly. "Make them disappear, like Faykan's can."

"The true Patronus does do that," said Lupin. "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground."

"Or until I get my hands on them." Faykan said angrily.

"You said it's harder if there are loads of them," said Harry.

"I have complete confidence in you," said Lupin, smiling. "Here, you've earned a drink - something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before…"

He pulled three bottles out of his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" said Harry, without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"Harry was at my house this summer," Faykan explained quickly, "I have stocks of it since it's difficult for me to get around to Hogsmeade and other places when I can't use magic."

"I see," said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. "Well… let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher..." he added hastily

They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he'd been wondering for a while.

"What's under a dementor's hood?"

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully.

"Hmmm... well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon."

"What's that?"

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and… and suck out his soul."

Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer.

"What! They kill…"

"Oh no," said Lupin, "much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no... anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever... lost."

"If you remain in that state long enough, around dementors, you body becomes like them. Sucking happiness out of the world to fill the void that they made in you." Faykan added, looking up from the book on transfiguration he was reading.

Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry has given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. "That's awful." He said.

Lupin raised his eyebrows, "Yes." He said, "Yes it is…"

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Hermione was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, working on essays for Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies. Faykan was watching her from across the several tables she had claimed for all her things, absently petting Crookshanks as the cat stretched lazily on his lap. Hermione smiled to herself, Faykan had bonded quiet closely with her cat, and Crookshanks came to him all the time for seemingly no reason, rubbing against his legs or mewling for his attention. He seemed to favor Faykan almost as much as he did Hermione.

"Hermione," Faykan said, breaking her out of her thoughts, "I know about _it_. You really should consider taken less classes, the strain is starting to affect you. The others are starting to notice, especially Ron."

Hermione opened her mouth to retort loudly, but just then the portrait hole opened, and Harry and Ron bounded in, the Firebolt over Harry's shoulder. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt.

Hermione watched the crowd for a moment, and then turned to look at Faykan. He was watching Harry, his face seeming to glow with happiness at the joy on Harry's face.

"You love him, don't you?" Hermione said, softly.

Hermione's suspicions were confirmed as Faykan's eye widened and he started to squirm in his seat, clearly startled that she had even asked. "I, um… well…" he sputtered for several minutes, and finally, his face bright red, he murmured so quietly that Hermione barley heard it, "Its complicated…"

The crowd finally dispersed, the interest over the Firebolt ebbing, and Ron and Harry moved over to where Hermione and Faykan sat. Faykan focused on scratching Crookshanks ears, avoiding looking up at the other two boys, as they gloated about the broom to Hermione.

Finally, Harry decided he should put him broom away, and Ron took up the charge of guarding it up the stairs, which Hermione found funny. Ron could be so strange about brooms sometimes. Harry moved to the couch that Faykan was sitting in, and sat next to him, not noticing the small squirms Faykan took to edge away from Harry slightly. Hermione noticed, and smiled slightly. Boys were so easy to read, especially ones with deep crushes like Faykan.

Crookshanks nudged Harry with his head, striving to get both boys petting him, and Hermione laughed in her mind at the small motions Faykan made to avoid touching Harry's hands by accident. Harry voiced his own concerns about Hermione's overfilled schedule, and Hermione declined losing any of the classes, there was simply too much to learn, and she wanted every drop of knowledge she could get.

She was about to explain why she loved Arithmancy to Harry, when a strangled yell echoed down the boys' staircase. Hermione jumped in her seat, as did both Faykan and Harry. Crookshanks dived off their laps and became a blur as he dashed under a chair.

The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder, and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bed sheet.

"LOOK!" he bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table.

"LOOK!" he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.

"Ron, what…?" Hermione tried to ask but Ron interrupted her.

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

Hermione leaned away from Ron utterly bewildered. She snuck a glance at the other two boys. Both Faykan and Harry were looking down at the sheet Ron was holding, but she smiled to notice that Faykan was clutching Harry's hand, although both boys were oblivious to the fact they were touching. Hermione returned to looking at the sheets that Ron was waving in her face. There was something red on them, something that looked horribly like…

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N-no," said Hermione in a trembling voice.

Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. Hermione, Faykan and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs…

**_Seriously, Feed the Review monster, I HUNGER!_**


	12. Chapter 11

**Attention Readers! Thank you for the wonderful comments, and/or concerns, relating to the previous chapter. I am personally very happy to present the next chapter ahead of schedual, due to my amazing beta, who i am greatly thankful for. Enjoy! and please keep the reviews comming, even if they are less than positive.**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Dark Visions**

It looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship. Each was so angry with the other that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make up.

Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks' attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on him, and was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting that Ron look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds. Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.

Personally, Harry was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when he tried to point out to Hermione that the evidence all pointed that way, she lost her temper with Harry too.

"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First the Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just leave me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!"

Harry shook his head and returned to Ron and Faykan, who were sitting around the fireplace, and took a seat next to Faykan. Faykan moved over slightly to make extra room, and sent another glace at Hermione, sighing slightly. "What," Ron snapped, "Are you agreeing with her now Faykan? I thought we all agreed that Crookshanks ATE Scabbers?"

Faykan frowned at Ron, "I don't agree with either you or Hermione, Ron. You are both acting like children about this. It is true," he added loudly, "that Hermione should have paid more attention to Crookshanks' behavior," Ron smiled gloatingly at Hermione, but scowled at Faykan's next words, "but, if you really cared about Scabbers, Ron, you would have done something more permanent to protect him, like transfigure a cage."

Ron snatched up his homework and stormed out of the room, leaving Harry and Faykan alone. "Git," Faykan said to himself, and he stood to leave also, "want to come learn some more stuff Harry? I need to blow off some steam." Harry smiled slightly, the only plus to having Ron and Hermione angry at them and each other, was that he and Draco got Faykan to themselves in the Room of Requirement. Their pace had quickened since Faykan did not need to help Ron or explain everything four different ways for Hermione to copy, and Harry was enjoying it immensely.

Both he and Draco were now learning their second year spells wandlessly, fourth year transfiguration and minor healing spells. Faykan had also stepped up their magic and martial dueling training. They now had to fight each other with wand and sword simultaneously, and were studying fifth and sixth year defensive spells. Harry now had a new meaning for the word exhausted. As they entered the Room of Requirement, Harry saw Draco, who was reading a book entitled "_Mastering Spells Without Sound_," but he looked up as they entered. Faykan brushed past them and summoned targets around the room, and incinerating, demolishing, and shredding each in turn with wandless magic. Draco shut the book, glancing at Harry with at look that clearly said 'this workout is going to be painful.'

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It had taken about a month for Albus to sort through the memories that Severus had given him, analyzing every possible detail with the information he had already on Mr. Undol. He thought he might have found a few direct similarities, but he needed to recheck one particular memory to confirm them.

Bending over the pensieve again, Albus cleared his mind except for the thought of the memory he wanted to see.

Images flowed around him as he sank into the silvery depths, landing in one of the dungeon passages of Hogwarts. Albus spent a moment to orient himself, judging that he was near the Slytherin common rooms, when the eleven year old form of Severus Snape came around a corner, his nose deep in a Potions journal. So focused on his reading was the young Severus, that he never noticed the shadowy forms that approached him from the corridor ahead.

Albus had been mildly aware about the rivalry between Severus and James Potter, but he had been too caught up with the beginnings of the First war with Voldemort to take much notice. Clearly with how Severus treated young Harry, he had put such childish feelings behind him. James stood in the middle of the corridor with his friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, waiting for Severus to run right into them.

"_Well, well, if it isn't Snivellus…_" Black said sarcastically when Severus was about five feet away. Pettigrew laughed, while Lupin whispered something to James, who shook his head and stepped forward. "Y_ou think you're so smart don't you Snivellus, putting that porcupine quill in my potion when I wasn't looking_."

Severus smirked at James, who scowled in return. "_James I really think we shouldn't do this_." Lupin said hesitantly, looking around. James ignored him, and lifted his wand, pointing it at Severus, "_You humiliated me in front of the whole class, now I'm going to make you pay_." James started to cast, but Severus was faster. He lunged sideways, pulling his wand from his robes and dodging James spell, spinning to face him, "_Speculum_," _[1]_ Severus cried, but James blocked the stinging hex with ease, and Sirius retaliated with the tickling charm, which hit Severus, and he doubled over with angry giggles.

Albus watched the impromptu two-on-one duel for several moments, until finally, James tried to use _tarantallegra_, but a new voice roared, "_Tinechor_!" _[2]_ A shining blue bubble appeared around Severus, deflecting the jinx, and the four Gryffindors whipped around to see two Slytherin fifth years.

One was Undol, Albus presumed, and the other was a tall blond haired boy with a pale pointed face, and cold grey eyes. Albus recognized him as a fifteen year old Lucius Malfoy. Lucius' prefect badge gleaming on his left breast, and his wand was in his hand, pointed directly at James. Undol had cast the protection charm over Severus, and was now spinning his ebony wand lazily in his hand, watching the four Gryffindors with his piercing blue eyes.

"_Oh ho! Look at this Lucius! Little cubs wandering around in the snake pit!_" Undol laughed, "_And they dare to attack one of us! Careful little cubbies, you never know what'll happen when you poke a snake_."

"_I... don't need your help!_" Severus yelled hoarsely. Lucius raised his eyebrows at the first year, while Faykan grinned at him, "_You need to learn Snape, your one of us, which means… we protect you. Accept it_."

His blue eyes flashed as he raised his wand, stepping into a dueling position, Lucius standing behind him, almost looking bored. "_Let us see if they can hold their own against a mature viper_." Undol sneered, and attacked James with a flash of blue light. James dodged out of the way, stumbled and fell as Undol shot a tripping hex at him. Sirius tried to disarm Undol, but it was blocked with a casual flick of the older boy's wand. "_I thought that the heirs of the noble houses of Black and Potter could do better. I'm disappointed_." Undol taunted them. Both boys glared at Undol

"_Fay…_" Lucius drawled, "_Don't play around with them; we have Arithmancy in five minutes…_"

Faykan frowned, then grinned as an idea struck him, "_Just enough time for this…_" another spin of his wand, a flash, and James, Sirius, and Peter were floating in the air upside down. Their wands clattered to the floor as their robes fell over their faces. Both Lucius and Severus grinned while Faykan laughed loudly at the three hanging boys. Lupin look fearfully at Faykan, who tilted his head as he studied the Gryffindor, "_You… you didn't mock one of us, or try to attack him. So I'll let you go, for now_." Lucius walked over and helped Severus to his feet, and together the three Slytherins walked away, leaving Lupin to try and figure a counter to the spell Faykan had used on his friends.

Albus followed the three boys up to the entrance hall, listening in as they chatted about classes and other non-important subjects. Faykan had put one hand on Severus' shoulder, guiding him through several secret passages. "_What spell did you use to string them up like that?_" Severus asked quietly, as if the need for asking was appalling to him. Faykan grinned, quietly explaining the spell to him as they walked, Lucius shaking his head at the erratic gestures his friend was using in his descriptions.

Albus pulled out of the memory, thinking hard. The Slytherin Faykan had spoken what sounded like elvish, was an exceptional duelist, and was physically identical to his present-day self. The clues were there, but either Albus was grasping at straws, or Mr. Undol had been careful his entire life to guard his secrets. But Albus wasn't the most powerful wizard in Britain for nothing. He would find out who he was, and bend the boy to his will.

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Draco rolled his eyes as he watched Harry come into the Great Hall for breakfast, Firebolt on his shoulder and surrounded by the Gryffindor third year boys like a guard of honor. Harry, Faykan, and Ron glanced at the Slytherin table, noting with satisfaction, that the rest of the Slytherin team were all thunderstruck.

Draco felt a twinge of worry and jealousy; he had difficulty beating Harry when he had an inferior broom. With a Firebolt, it would be near impossible for him to win at Quidditch. But he quickly smothered the emotion, allowing himself for feel happy for Harry. With all Harry had to live through, he deserved nice things. If that meant that Draco would continue to be second best, he could live with that, Malfoy pride aside.

Ignoring the mutterings and glares of the other Slytherins, Draco made his way across the Great Hall to congratulate Harry on his new broom. Let the fools talk, none of them had so far attempted to harm him, the son of Lucius Malfoy. As he approached, Draco noticed that only Faykan and Ron were sitting next to Harry; Hermione was down the table with the second and first year Gryffindors, occasionally glaring in the three boy's direction. 'Still fighting,' Draco surmised. Draco smiled inwardly, he would be glad to have Harry and Faykan to himself for a while. Not that he didn't like Ron or Hermione, true Hermione was a bit of a know-it-all and Ron was a hot headed git a lot, and that they had both been really unfriendly for the most of first year, they had all grown closer after the adventure on the third floor and even more so after the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. Ron was still a git occasionally, but he was a Weasley; it was to be expected that they were tactless gits a lot of the time.

Draco slid into a group of Hufflepuffs that were admiring the Firebolt just in time to hear Percy Weasley talk about a small wager he had made with his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, on the outcome of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match. Draco slid into a seat next to Faykan, who nodded at his appearance.

"Hey Potter!" Nott called from across the Hall, "I hope that broom has a sticking charm on it, so you can stay on this time when the dementors come for you!" many of the Slytherins laughed, but Draco saw Faykan shake his head in amusement. Harry had a small smile on his face, and Draco lifted his eyebrows. They were up to something…

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Hermione had never been over enthusiastic about Quidditch. But her friendship with Harry pulled at her to be here, in his support, especially when the dementors were close by and had attacked once before. She could see Faykan several rows in front of her, next to Ron, fingering his wand as he watched Harry speed around the field on his Firebolt.

The announcer, Lee Jordan, kept being distracted from the match to comment about this or that detail on the Firebolt, and Professor McGonagall had to remind him to return to the score over and over. Hermione settled to just watch Harry and the female seeker from Ravenclaw, Cho Chang. She kept tailing Harry closely, which Hermione thought was odd. Wasn't it the point for them to both be looking for the Snitch? Hermione saw the tactic immediately, as Harry dived and Chang moved to block him. She was just trying to prevent Harry from getting the Snitch himself.

Harry seemed to recognize it as well, as he started to weave up and down at full speed, which Chang could not hope to keep up to. Suddenly, Harry changed direction again, pelting toward the Ravenclaw side of the field, Chang following his movement from below. They had seen the Snitch. Suddenly, Chang screamed, pointing down. Hermione looked, and saw three tall, black, hooded dementors on the field, looking up at the seekers. Harry didn't even pause as he drew his wand, roared, "_Expecto Patronum!_" and continued speeding after the tiny winged ball. An enormous four legged animal erupted from his wand, bearing down at the three "dementors" and they fell back, trying to run away. Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, and Hermione saw the Gryffindor team swarming over Harry, who had the Snitch in his hand along with his wand. Hermione followed the rest of Gryffindor House down to the pitch to congratulate Harry.

"That's my boy!" Wood was yelling. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie had all kissed Harry; Fred had him in a grip so tight it looked like Harry was going to suffocate.

"Yes!" Ron yelled as he and Faykan ran up, and he yanked Harry's arm into the air. "Yes! Yes!" Faykan lifted Harry into the air by the waist and spun him around once, beaming the entire time. Hermione smiled again, seeing Faykan and Harry interact was rather entertaining, given what she suspected about them.

"Well done, Harry!" said Percy, looking delighted. "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me…"

"Good for you, Harry!" roared Seamus Finnigan.

"Ruddy brilliant!" boomed Hagrid over the heads of the milling Gryffindors.

Professor Lupin came up behind Harry and said something in his ear. Harry responded excitedly, but Hermione couldn't hear because of the crowd. He began to lead Harry away, followed by Faykan, and Hermione felt it safe to return to Gryffindor Tower. She would congratulate Harry herself in private later, and she had some Muggle Studies reading to finish by Monday.

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Sirius' patience had run out. He had waited to watch Harry's match against Ravenclaw, which he was delighted to see Harry riding the broom he had bought with Undol's help. But he had to get at Peter before he could hurt Harry. Getting into the castle was as simple as last time, having the knowledge of all Hogwarts' secrets from his school years. Sirius climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, and stopped when he was encountered the by insane picture of Sir Cadogan.

"Stand and deliver you cur!" the knight shouted when he saw Sirius approach. Frowning, Sirius pulled the parchment that Faykan had given him. Scanning it quickly, Sirius found the password for that day, the person who wrote it had marked the days of each one.

"Chivalrous rogue." He read flatly.

"Indeed!" the knight said, swinging the portrait open.

Sirius paused for a moment, then changed into the grim and cautiously padded inside. Checking that no one was around, he trotted up the boy's staircase, stopping at the very top where the sign read: "_Third Years_." Nudging the door open, Sirius crept inside, changing back into himself. The six beds gave him a rush of memories about James, Remus, and Peter. He spotted Harry at once, as his curtains were open and a gleam of moonlight glistened on his face. Sirius watched his best friend's son sleep for several moments, tears sliding down his face at all the pain they had lived through. A small cough startled him, and he turned to the bed next to Harry's. The Undol boy was sitting there, peering at Sirius through the curtains. Sirius leaned down to be right next to the boys face, "Which one is Weasley?" he asked softly. The boy's eyes widened in understanding, and Sirius then followed his pointed finger to a bed in which a red haired boy slept; the same boy he had seen in the _Daily Prophet_.

Sirius searched quietly around the bed for several minutes, but could find no trace of the rat. He pulled out a large knife he had found on his way from Azkaban, and began slicing the canopy and curtains carefully to see into the bed without pulling them apart and disturbing the boy. But even the soft tearing noises were too much; the boy stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Sirius froze as the redhead locked gazes with him. The boy opened his mouth wide, and Sirius bolted at the same time that the Weasley boy screamed. He was out of the common room before anyone else even saw him.

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No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. Professor McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped. The next day, the students found several drastic tightening of security, such as Professor Flitwick warding the front doors from admitting Sirius Black, to Filch boarding up cracks and crevasses with boards. Sir Cadogan had been fired. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.

Ron had become an instant celebrity. For the first time in his life, people were paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it was clear that Ron was rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened, with a wealth of detail. One thing had been bothering Harry about it however. Why had Black ran when Ron had woken? If the Ministry was to be trusted, Black should have simply silenced Ron and proceeded to Harry. The only possible threat to him in the room had been Faykan, and he was sound asleep like the rest of them. On the other hand, if he wasn't trying to kill Harry, then the question was why he was trying to get into the Tower at all. It was so confusing to Harry that he couldn't think about it for long without getting a headache.

Neville was in total disgrace. Professor McGonagall was so furious with him when she found out he had written the list of passwords that Black had used, she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Poor Neville was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. At least Faykan was kind enough to wait up every night for him. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break in, she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast… a Howler.

Harry was too busy feeling sorry for Neville in the midst of his grandmother's roars to notice immediately that he had a letter too. Hedwig got his attention by nipping him sharply on the wrist.

"Ouch! Oh… thanks, Hedwig."

Harry tore open the envelope while Hedwig helped herself to some of Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said:

'_Dear Harry, Faykan, and Ron, How abut having tea with me this afternoon_ '_round six? I'll come collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL_;_ YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN. Cheers, Hagrid_'

"He probably wants to hear all about Black!" said Ron, brightening immediately. Harry saw Faykan shaking his head behind Ron, but he was letting his instant fame go to his head after all.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione was rather thankful that Hagrid had sent her a note to inform her that he would be having Harry, Ron, and Faykan at his hut that evening. Not only did she have the Room of Requirement to herself for once, but she could finally investigate the _Palantír_ for signs of dark magic. Whenever she had tried to take a look at it before, someone would always be in the room and ask her what she was doing. But then she and Ron had had their fight and she hadn't been able to get in the room for weeks. So she had been helping Hagrid during that time, preparing him for the case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that was meant for that Friday.

But now the boys were gone, and she had full reign of the room for an hour. Walking into the room, she glanced immediately toward the circle of chairs. The orb was still there, settled in the center of the table with the black cloth draped over it. Hermione checked her watch as she approached the table; it was just past time for the meeting with Hagrid. Nodding, Hermione reached forward to pull the cloth away, and she hesitated. Would it really be right to do this behind Faykan's back? Yes, she convinced herself, it was right to make sure that the object that had allowed her friend access to her and her friend's minds was safe.

The cloth came away with ease, revealing the swirling blackness of the stone. Trembling, Hermione reached her hands forward to lift the stone into the air. Her fingers inches away from the surface of the orb, she froze. The mist inside the stone had started to unfurl, and the lights around the room dimmed. 'Oh no!' Hermione thought in desperation, trying to figure a way to stop herself from gazing into the stone, but her hands wouldn't move, frozen in their position on either side of the orb. Her eyes locked onto the swirling depths of the _Palantír_, and she gasped at the visions that swarmed over the surface of her mind.

A myriad of faces swam past her eyes, Harry, Ron, Hagrid, Professor Flitwick, and many others she knew mixed in with hundreds that she could not place or recognize. Then the _Palantír_ glowed from within, and Hermione saw Harry lying on the bank on the black lake, screaming in pain as hundreds of dementors glided down upon him. Another man lay near him, and the dementors seemed eager to attack the man. Their black robes swirled as they set upon both of them, and Hermione cried in terror. The vision shifted, and she saw Faykan and Dumbledore in a darkened house, pulling a golden locket out of a dusty closet. Dumbledore eyed it, and gave it to Faykan, who resisted until the older wizard forced the chain over his neck. And the orb darkened, changing the scene again.

It was of Faykan, but he was not the same. His face was drawn, and full of malice. Even his eyes were different, no longer the bright blue that seemed to see through people, but they were crimson, glowing with dark power. He stood in the middle of a huge gathering of the foulest, most ugly creatures Hermione had ever seen. They were tall, armored, with black skin and large fanged mouths. They carried spears, swords, and massive shields emblazoned with a clawed white hand. They were roaring, stamping their feet, pounding their shields and spears and making tons of noise, celebrating. Around them was a large wasteland on the boarders of a burning forest. Hermione stood in shock as Faykan raised once hand, and the creatures fell silent immediately.

Faykan spoke, his voice magically magnified, and Hermione heard harsh cruel words, but could understand. "_A new power is rising! Its victory is at hand!_" Faykan paused as the creatures around him cheered once, high and cold. "_This night, the age of men will fall! We march on London! Leave none alive! To War!_" he roared, and the army of monsters roared with him, forming into long lines to march through the burning forest. Faykan smiled as the creature passed around him, and the light of the flames reflected the locket around his neck, illuminating the ornate letter '_S_' cut into the metal.

Fire plumed as the orb shifted once more, revealing a sight that made Hermione want to scream. London was in flames. The hideous creatures ran through the streets, cutting down wizard and muggle alike with impunity. Groups of people were trying to fight them off, but there were simply too many. For every creature they slaughtered, more appeared in their place. Hermione gasped as she saw Dumbledore fighting alongside the Weasleys and a band of muggles. Casting stunners and entrapments, Dumbledore felled creature after creature, standing like a monument of stone before a storm, immovable, unstoppable. Then a high pitch shriek sounded from above, and the defenders looked up in terror. A large dragon was swooping at Dumbledore. Black scales glistened on its hide, and cruel horns curved off its head. But the shriek came not from the dragon, but the rider. Faykan laughed, a high cold sound, as his mount landed before Dumbledore, who raised his wand at the much younger wizard.

"_Hello Faykan_." Dumbledore said solemnly, wearily. Faykan continued to laugh, pulling the reins of his dragon to the side to present himself before Dumbledore. He was clad in black battle armor, draped over with a dark cloak, and upon his head was a tarnished silver crown. The locket bounced off his chest as he settled on the dragon's back. His eyes glowed with hatred as he looked down at the Headmaster. "_Dumbledore…_" he said, and the people around Dumbledore shielded their ears at the screech of his voice. "_Do you not know death when you see it, old man!_" he said drawing a black wand from his belt. "_This is my hour!_" Faykan cried, fire spiraling off the end of his wand.

"_My boy_," Dumbledore said calmly, as the battle raged around them both, "_I am sorry for what you have become, but I must stop you_."

Faykan laughed again, "_What I have become?_" he mocked, "_I have taken my place in the realm of this world. The world of men will fall; the Age of the Orc has come! Die now, and curse in vain! Avada Kadavera!_" The green jet of light launched from the end of the wand, striking Dumbledore before he could even retaliate. The aged wizard fell, and Hermione fell with him, spiraling into blackness as the orb and its horrible visions fell silent.

The torches around the room relit as Hermione dropped the _Palantír_ back onto the table with a heavy _thump_. She sat in pure shock at what she had seen. Faykan become as evil as You-Know-Who? It couldn't be true, could it? But he was so nice, especially to Harry. Harry! His death at the hands of dementors caused new tears to burst down her cheeks. No, it couldn't be true, and even if it was, Hermione would do all in her power to stop it. This terrible future she had seen will not come to pass if she had anything to say about it. And the stone? She looked toward the black orb again, lying there on the table tame and quiet. Should she tell a teacher? Dumbledore? No, if she told and someone took it away, Faykan would find out, and what then? No, she would leave it here, and keep the information to herself for now. Slowly Hermione staggered to her feet and checked her watch, fifteen minutes to seven, the boys would be coming back from Hagrid's very soon. She should get back to the common room. With that she covered the black ball once again and dashed out the door.

_[1] Speculum : Sting (Latin)_

_[2] Tinechor : Shield_

**_Review Please! More reviews prevent Dark Faykan from rising to devour London!_**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Steamroll! hurray! Thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter, and i hope that this new one recieves as much love as the others!**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Marauders**

That Saturday was the next Hogsmeade weekend. Harry had noticed that his route to the village through the one eyed witch statue was unnoticed by Filch, and hoped that he and Faykan would be able to use it once again. Hermione had expressed her displeasure of Harry's wanting to go back to the village when he and Fay had been denied permission from Professor McGonagall, going so far as to threaten to rat them out. They ignored her, and had set plans to explore the rest of the village that day.

On Saturday morning, Harry packed his Invisibility Cloak in his bag, slipped the Marauder's Map into his pocket, and he and Faykan went down to breakfast with everyone else. Hermione kept shooting suspicious looks down the table at them, but he avoided her eye and was careful to let her see him walking back up the marble staircase in the entrance hall as everybody else proceeded to the front doors.

"'Bye!" Harry called to Ron. "See you when you get back!"

Ron grinned and winked.

Together Harry and Faykan ran up to the third floor, Harry slipping out the Marauder's Map out of his pocket as they went. Harry kept watch as Faykan whipped out his wand and approached the statue. Harry stopped him; a tiny dot was moving in their direction. Harry squinted at the tiny writing next to it, and read Neville Longbottom.

Harry tossed his bag to Faykan, who muttered, "_Dissendium!_" and shoved the bag into the statue, but before either could climb in, Neville came around the corner.

"Harry, Faykan! I forgot you two weren't going to Hogsmeade either!"

"Hi, Neville," said Harry, moving swiftly away from the statue and pushing the map back into his pocket. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," shrugged Neville. "Want a game of Exploding Snap?"

"Err… not now, we were going to go to the library and do that vampire essay for Lupin…" Harry lied.

"I'll come with you!" said Neville brightly. "I haven't done it either!"

Faykan jabbed Harry in the ribs with his elbow.

"Err, hang on… yeah, I forgot, we finished it last night!"

"Great, you can help me!" said Neville, his round face anxious. "I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all, do they have to eat it, or…"

He broke off with a small gasp, looking over Harry's shoulder.

It was Snape. Neville took a quick step behind Harry.

"And what are you three doing here?" said Snape, coming to a halt and looking at each of them. "An odd place to meet…"

To Harry's immense disquiet, Snape's black eyes flicked to the doorways on either side of them, and then to the one eyed witch.

"We're not… meeting here," said Harry. "We just, met here."

"Its not a crime to be out in the corridor during the day is it, Professor?" Faykan said slightly mockingly. Snape scowled at him.

"You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Mr. Undol, and you are very rarely there for no reason... I suggest that you three return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong."

The three Gryffindors set off without another word. Looking back as they turned the corner, Harry saw Snape running his hands over the statue's head, examining it closely.

After ditching Neville in front of the fat lady, Harry and Faykan dashed back toward the third floor. Harry rechecked the map when they were alone, the corridor with the one eyed witch was deserted, and Snape was back in his office. They sprinted back to the statue, opened it, and heaved each other inside. After sliding down the chute, Harry wiped the map and stowed it in his bag that was waiting for them. "Handy that," Faykan commented as they dashed down the passage, "I was getting oh so very tired of scouting ahead of you all the time."

"Lies… you loved it." Harry retorted with a grin.

"Yeah, I suppose I did." Faykan said cheerily as they approached the trapdoor to Honeydukes.

Together they slipped out under the Invisibility cloak, and emerged into the sunlit streets outside of the candy shop. They found Ron and prodded him in the back to get his attention.

"It's us," Harry muttered in his ear.

"What kept you?" Ron hissed back.

"Snape," Faykan replied simply.

And together they set off up High Street.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Draco had just emerged from Dominic Maestro's when he saw Ron wandering up High Street alone, yet talking as if there was someone there. 'Of course,' Draco thought, 'Faykan and Harry must be under the cloak.'

Draco followed, hoping to learn how they got out of the castle without Filch or McGonagall learning of it. "Where are you?" Ron kept muttering out of the corner of his mouth. "Are you still there? This feels weird..."

"Quiet Ron or anyone will hear you talking to yourself," Draco said as he poked Ron in the back, causing him to jump.

"Draco!" he yelled, spinning around, "Don't do that!" Draco sniggered, and he could hear the other two Gryffindor boys restraining laughter from under the cloak. "So, how is it that you guys are here," he said in a conspiratorial whisper, falling in beside Ron as they continued up the street.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Faykan's voice said from thin air.

"When were back at the castle we'll explain, but not here." Ron clarified. Draco accepted that, it would be too suspicious to have them talking to seeming nothingness in the middle of a busy street.

Their first stop was the post office, which Draco felt was a waste of time personally, but Harry seemed to enjoy if the small sounds of awe coming out of nowhere were any indication. Afterward they tried to visit Zonko's, but it was far too packed with students for Harry or Faykan to go in with the cloak, so Ron took orders of what they wanted and purchased their items for them, wisely hanging on to them for later.

The day was fine and breezy, and none of them felt like staying indoors for long, so they walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain. It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden.

"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it," said Ron as they leaned on the fence, looking up at it. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick... he says he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut..."

Draco watched the house for several moments, reveling in the silence around them, when he spotted a dark shape looming around the side of the building. He squinted to try and make it out, but at that moment he heard voices approaching from behind them. Someone was climbing toward the house from the other side of the hill; moments later, Nott had appeared, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. Nott was speaking.

"...should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm... about how I couldn't use it for three months..."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.

"I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself... 'There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest' that hippogriff's as good as dead…"

Nott suddenly caught sight of Draco and Ron. His pale face split in a malevolent grin.

"Oh look!" he sneered, "it's everyone's favorite blood-traitors, Drakie and the Weasel… Honestly Malfoy, I don't understand why you bother with these people; Potter isn't special enough to warrant you spending time alone with Mudbloods and traitors."

Draco sneered back at Nott, and Ron looked like he wanted to leap at the other boy, but from behind them Harry's voice sounded in their ears, "Leave him to me..."

Draco heard a small sound like a gentle breeze, and felt something fuzzy and warm by his leg. Looking down he saw Faykan the fox pawing slowly through the snow from behind him, so that Nott wouldn't see where he came from.

"We were just discussing your friend Hagrid," Nott said to Ron. "Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off his hippogriff's…"

_SLAPT!_

Nott's head jerked forward as a huge glob of mud hit him, sending him staggering forward a step with the force of it.

"What the…?"

Ron burst out laughing, while Draco contented himself with a humorous smirk. Nott and his two goons spun stupidly on the spot, staring wildly around, trying to find whoever threw the mud.

"What was that? Who did that?"

"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" Ron stated with the air of discussing the weather.

Both Crabbe and Goyle looked spooked, while Nott was staring madly at the deserted landscape.

Icy wind started to blow, seeming from the direction of the Shrieking Shack, sweeping the boys' robes up and carrying sounds of grinding and moans. Nott's face blanched. A ghostly, echoing voice sounded around them, chilling Draco's bones and setting his teeth on edge.

"_The way is shut… It was made by those who are dead… and the dead keep it… The way is shut!_"

"AAARGH!" Nott yelled, running back toward Hogsmeade, with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. Suddenly Nott tripped, and out of nowhere Harry's head appeared. Nott must have caught the hem of the Invisibility cloak. Nott screamed again, high and very feminine; completely unbecoming of his heritage, and sprinted back to the castle.

Harry tugged the cloak up again, but the damage was done.

"Harry!" Ron said, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at the point where Harry had disappeared, "you'd better run for it! If Nott tells anyone… you'd better get back to the castle, quick…"

"See you later," Harry called, and Faykan the fox dashed away, ducking under the parting in the cloak that Harry opened for him, and they vanished from sight.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Theodore Nott had told him an interesting story. Something about Potter's head appearing near the Shrieking Shack while he was there with Weasley and Draco. It was very interesting for Severus to think that Potter had found a way around the dementors and into the village without permission. And where Potter went, Undol usually wasn't far behind.

Severus was currently striding down the third floor toward the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, just in the off chance that Nott was making up stories. Let no one say that Severus Snape didn't investigate the truth of everything, including accusations from his own serpents. As he came around the corner that housed the statue of a one eyed witch that he met Potter, Longbottom, and Undol at earlier that day, he saw Potter, red faced and winded, rolling on the stone floor of the corridor with a large black fox. The fox was plainly trying to lick Potter's face, and Potter was laughing as he attempted to protect himself. Severus raised an eyebrow at the clear oddity of the situation. The fox seemed very familiar to him, but he could not place where he had seen the creature before.

"So," he said finally, and Potter started, sitting up and turning to face him, slight embarrassment on his face for being found playing like a child with an animal.

"Mr. Nott had just been to see me with a strange story, Potter," Potter said nothing so Severus continued, as the fox poked its nose into Potter's ear, causing the boy to laugh softly and push the small creature away, "Mr. Nott claims that he was standing talking to Weasley and Mr. Malfoy by the Shrieking Shack, apparently alone, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do you think that could have happened?"

Severus looked and saw smeared mud on Potter's hands, and more covering the fox's body from where the boy was handling it.

"I don't know, Professor."

Severus tried to look into Potter's mind, as he had done easily the last two years, and was shocked to find nothing but fog. Someone had been teaching the boy Occlumency, and Severus had a good guess at whom.

"Mr. Nott then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been, Potter?"

"No," Potter said, trying and failing to sound innocently curious.

"It was your head, Potter. Floating in midair."

"Maybe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey," Potter said. "If he's seeing things like…"

"What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?" said Severus softly, cutting over him. "Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade."

"I know that," said Harry, straining to keep his face rigid. "It sounds like Nott's having hallucin…"

"Nott isn't having hallucinations." snarled Snape, "If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you, as was Mr. Undol most likely, who is also not allowed to be in Hogsmeade."

Severus glanced around for a moment, wondering where the other boy might be, and felt something brush against his leg. Looking down, Severus saw the black fox rubbing its head against his leg, seeking affection from the new person. Severus took a moment to study the fox, large and black with grey markings down its back, curiously familiar markings. "Where is Mr. Undol?" Severus asked coldly.

"Probably back in Gryffindor Tower," Potter replied, "Like you told…"

"Can anyone else confirm that?" Severus said, overriding Potter again.

Potter said nothing, and Severus smiled.

"So," he said, straightening up again. "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences."

Potter glared for a moment at Severus, while the fox continued to persistently annoy his leg for attention. Severus pushed it aside with his foot while continuing to address Potter.

"Turn out your pockets…" he said suddenly

Potter hesitated, before he pulled from his robe pocket his wand, and a spare bit of old parchment…

Severus took the parchment, unfolding its many odd flaps, all blank, "and what is this?" he asked smugly.

"Spare bit of parchment," Potter said with a shrug.

Turning the parchment over, Severus eyed Potter as he withdrew his wand.

"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?" Severus said smugly, "Why don't I just, throw this away?" he added as he raised his wand.

"NO!" Potter said quickly.

Severus raised an eyebrow, "So, is this some kind of treasured gift, a letter perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or… instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the dementors? Let me see, let me see…. Reveal your secret!" Severus said, tapping the parchment with his wand.

Nothing happened.

"Show yourself!" Severus tried again, tapping the parchment harder.

Still nothing happened. Potter looked like he was starting to hyperventilate.

"Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" Severus stated, swatting the parchment hard with his wand.

As though an invisible hand were writing upon it, words appeared on the smooth surface of the map.

'_Mooney presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business_.'

Severus froze. Potter stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the parchment didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.

'_Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git_.'

Prongs! Severus clenched the parchment tightly; this was the marauder's blasted map! More writing appeared under the previous sentences.

'_Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor_.'

Potter had closed his eyes in horror. The fox had disappeared, but Severus was watching as the final line of insults formed on the map.

'_Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball_.'

"So…" Severus said softly. "We'll see about this, follow me Potter!"

And with that Severus led the boy down to his dungeon office. Severus strode across the room in several steps, seized a fistful of glittering floo powder from a nearby jar, and threw it into the flames.

"Lupin," he called, "I want a word."

Several moments later the spinning shape appeared in the fireplace, and Lupin clambered out, brushing ashes off his shabby robes.

"You called Severus?" he said mildly.

"I certainly did," said Severus, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk. "I have just asked Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying this."

Severus pointed at the parchment, on which the words of _Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs_ were still shining. An odd, closed expression appeared on Lupin's face.

"Well?" Severus insisted, forcing Lupin's hand. "This parchment is plainly full of _Dark Magic_. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you _imagine_ Potter got such a thing?"

Lupin looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Harry's direction, warned the boy not to interrupt.

"Full of Dark Magic?" he repeated mildly. "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop…"

"Indeed?" Severus interrupted. "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the _manufacturers_?"

"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?" he said. "Harry, do you know any of these men?"

"No," said Potter quickly.

"You see Severus?" said Lupin, turning back to face him.

Suddenly, Faykan strode into the room, and casually looked from Severus angry face to Lupin, then over to Potter, and finally settling his eyes on the map.

"Oh, there's my little project. I was wondering what you did with it Harry," he said cheerfully to Potter as he approached and reached a hand to pick up the map. Severus snatched it away with a scowl at Undol.

"So," Lupin said to Undol, "You are saying that you made this article and let Harry borrow it?" Undol nodded, smiling in a way that Severus knew was meant to charm. He scowled deeper as Lupin turned to him.

"Well, that seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" Lupin said, pulling the map from Severus' grip and tucking it inside his robes. "Harry, Faykan, come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay… excuse us Severus."

And together they all left Severus fuming silently.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry couldn't believe his luck at escaping from Snape without punishment, thanks to both Professor Lupin and Faykan's intervention. They walked together up to the entrance hall without speaking. Finally Harry turned to Lupin.

"Professor, I…"

"I don't want to hear explanations," said Lupin shortly. He glanced around the empty entrance hall and lowered his voice. "I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map," he said. Harry was amazed, but Faykan looked as if he knew this information already. Lupin continued, "I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry."

Harry had expected that, and was too keen for explanations to protest.

"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?"

"Because...," Lupin hesitated, "because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."

"Do you know them?" said Faykan, smirking.

"We've met," Lupin said shortly. He was looking at Harry more seriously than ever before.

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them, wandering around with this map; did you think what might happen if Black found this? It could lead him straight to you…"

He walked away, leaving Harry feeling worse by far than he had at any point in Snape's office. Slowly, he and Faykan mounted the marble staircase. They found Ron near the One eyed witch's statue, which Harry remember with a grimace still had the Invisibility cloak inside it, but he didn't dare get it now.

Faykan explained to Ron what had happened since their hasty departure at the Shrieking Shack. "It's my fault," said Ron abruptly. "I persuaded you guys to go. Lupin's right, it was stupid, we shouldn't have done it…"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione was pacing in front of the fat lady's portrait, straining to comprehend the short message from Hagrid she had just received.

_Dear Hermione, _

_We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you gave us. _

_Hagrid_

The parchment was damp, and stained with Hagrid enormous teardrops, which had smudged the ink badly, but Hermione could still make out everything. Hermione felt horrible for Hagrid, and angry at Nott, his father, Lucius Malfoy, and the whole committee for their lack of moral dignity to make just and fair decisions in the face of corruption. It made Hermione sick with fury.

"Are you going to stand there all day or give the password?" the fat lady said impatiently. Hermione scowled at the painting, and stormed away down the hall with the patrolling security trolls.

She had made it halfway down the hall when Harry, Ron, and Faykan came around the corner, Ron breaking off speaking as they saw her coming toward them. Harry's face paled slightly at the look on her face. He must think that she told on them to Professor McGonagall for their sneaking out to Hogsmeade.

"Come to have a good gloat?" said Ron savagely as she stopped in front of them. "Or have you just been to tell on us?"

"No," Hermione retorted angrily. She tried to control her trembling lip as she looked at the letter again. "I just thought you ought to know... Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed."

All three boys looked gob smacked. Clearly none of them had even remembered Hagrid's problems with the Ministry. "He sent me this," she continued, holding the letter out to Harry, who took it and read, Ron and Faykan leaning over his shoulders to see for themselves.

"They can't do this," Harry said in a small voice, "They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous."

"Nott's father used Lucius Malfoy to frighten the committee into it," Hermione explained, wiping her own eyes. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope… nothing will have changed."

"Yeah, it will," Ron said fiercely. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time Hermione. I'll help."

Hermione felt a burst of new emotion at Ron's pronouncement, and she flung her arms around the boy, breaking down again as she hung there, sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, she recomposed herself enough to pull away from him. Ron looked slightly shaken, having completely unexpected her reaction.

"Ron, I'm so very sorry about Scabbers…" Hermione sobbed, deciding to breach the gap between them now while they had some commonality.

"Oh… well, he was old," Ron said, looking thoroughly relieved that she had let go of him. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now."

"Especially if you play up the waterworks a bit…" Faykan joked, and the boys laughed, but Hermione didn't. She still remembered the terrifying vision of Faykan, red eyed and violent, striking down Dumbledore and setting vicious creature loose on London, and she didn't know what to believe at the moment. On the one hand, Faykan had never done anything to break their trust in him, and yet on the other he had no trust in Dumbledore, the greatest light wizard who ever lived, so who knew what side he was really on… it was all so confusing.

The four Gryffindors wanted nothing better than to go and talk with Hagrid immediately, but the safety measures imposed after Black's second break-in made it impossible for evening visits. Their only chance to talk with him was during their Care of Magical Creature lessons.

Hagrid was, in short, numb with shock at the verdict.

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em..."

"There's still the appeal!" said Ron fiercely. "Don't give up yet, we're working on it!"

They were walking back up to the castle with the rest of the class. Ahead they could see Nott, who was walking with Crabbe and Goyle, and kept looking back, laughing derisively. Faykan was between them and Nott's group, talking softly to Draco, filling him in on what had transpired.

"S'no good, Ron," said Hagrid sadly as they reached the castle steps. "That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that..."

Hagrid turned around and hurried back toward his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief.

"Poor Hagrid." Draco said as they made their way into the entrance hall. Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle were there, at the entrance to the dungeons, leering at them as they passed. Nott didn't take his eyes off Faykan as he commented loudly about Hagrid's troubles. Hermione almost lost control to physically hit the tall arrogant arse, but Faykan caught her shoulder and she jerked in reaction.

"Sorry." Faykan said quietly, as Harry, Ron, and Draco talked about the upcoming Quidditch finals, Harry and Draco exchanging good natured taunts and jibes. Hermione ignored Faykan, too upset with the situation to care. She was losing control, she needed time to sleep, time…

"We're due in Charms," said Ron casually. The Gryffindors then parted from their Slytherin friend and made their way up to Flitwick's classroom. Hermione was too distracted to notice the boys as she absently flicked her Time-Turner, not noticing the bright blue eyes watching her vanish back an hour.

_**Please Review! More Reviews will cause Hermione to go back in time to punch Nott!**_


	14. Chapter 13

**Sorry bout the lateness of this Chapter, my beta had relatives of her roommate's over and was unable to get any editing done for live five days... but we has it now, and tension is building! And finally the 'M' rating starts to apply in this Chapter, you have been warned...**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Finals**

"You're late, boys!" Professor Flitwick said reprovingly as Harry opened the classroom door. "Come along, quickly, wands out. We're experimenting with Cheering Charms today, we've already divided into groups…"

Harry, Ron, and Faykan hurried to a pair of desks at the back and opened their bags. Ron looked behind him.

"Where's Hermione gone?"

Harry looked around too. Hermione hadn't entered the classroom, yet Harry knew she had been right next to him when he had opened the door.

"That's weird," said Harry, staring from Ron to Faykan. "Maybe… maybe she went to the bathroom or something?"

But Hermione didn't turn up all lesson. Faykan didn't look at all surprised by her absence but Harry was far too cheerful to care at the moment. The Cheering Charms had left them all feeling very contented as they made their way down to lunch.

Hermione wasn't at lunch either. By the time they had finished their apple pie, the after-effects of the Cheering Charms were wearing off, and Harry and Ron had started to get slightly worried.

"You don't think Nott did something to her?" Ron said anxiously as they hurried upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Highly unlikely." Faykan replied, smirking to himself.

They passed the security trolls, gave the Fat Lady the password (Flibbertigibbet), and scrambled through the portrait hole into the common room.

Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an open Arithmancy book. They went to sit down on either side of her. Harry prodded her awake.

"Wh… what?" said Hermione, waking with a start and staring wildly around. "Is it time to go? W-which lesson have we got now?"

"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes," said Harry. "Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?"

"What? Oh no!" Hermione squeaked. "I forgot to go to Charms!"

"But how could you forget?" said Harry. "You were with us till we were right outside the classroom!"

"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed. "Was Professor Flitwick angry? Oh, it was Nott, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!"

"You know what, Hermione?" said Ron, looking down at the enormous Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow. "I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much."

"No, I'm not!" said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eyes and staring hopelessly around for her bag. "I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry... I'll see you in Divination!"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

The Easter holidays were a nightmare. The third years had never had so much homework! Hermione had so much work from all her classes that she had barricaded herself in the Room of Requirement and only came out to catch a few hours sleep nightly. The only times that Draco even saw her was while he was training with Harry, Ron, and Faykan, and even then she only participated occasionally, the spent the rest of the time sheltered behind her books as she scratched away at essay after essay.

Harry was still having difficulty with the intensity of his wandless magic, due to the mysterious block on him, and Faykan had made no progress in removing it. According to Faykan, it had become damaged somehow, and would be impossible to remove without massive trauma to Harry and Faykan wasn't willing to risk permanently harming him to free his magic.

Therefore they had shifted their lessons to focus more on things that Harry could perform equally with Draco, Ron, and Hermione. Faykan had commissioned them all to continue practicing their wandless magic on their own, as it was important for their magical development. They were currently attempting to cast a modified version of the shield spell, molding it to make a dome around them to protect them from all angles. Faykan had told them that this spell was the simplest of all wards. Draco and Ron stood at one end of the room, struggling to maintain the spell while Faykan threw spells at them, gradually increasing the difficulty to test the strength of their shield wards.

Harry would have joined them, but Faykan said that Harry had had Quidditch practice, again. Draco had had increased practices as the final match came closer, but even Harry admitted that the Gryffindor captain, Wood, was slightly over zealous, more so now that Gryffindor was only two hundred points away from winning the Quidditch Cup for the first time in years.

"_Protego Totus_," Ron muttered, spinning his wand in an arc and refreshing his portion of his and Draco's joined shield ward. They had been working on withstanding Faykan's attacks for almost an hour, and together they had struggled under the rain of blows that their trainer had rained on them. Faykan had been near ruthless, throwing everything from stunners to large shards of transfigured ice at their shields. Both Ron and Draco were panting, sweat pouring from their faces, but their shields had held under the punishment.

"Ready?" Faykan asked them again, signaling that he was about to launch another barrage. Draco recast the spell, reinforcing the left half-dome of the shield.

"_Orbis incendia_!" Faykan cried, slashing his wand outward, and a large sphere of flame launched itself from the end, sailed across the room, and exploded upon the dual shields. Draco could feel the heat as the fire splashed around them, but their barrier held strong, preventing even a single spark from singing either boy.

As the fire burned itself out, Draco could hear the sound of polite clapping from the far side of the room. Faykan was applauding their teamwork, beaming as Ron and Draco lowered their shield and collapsed into chairs near Hermione, pulling glasses of pumpkin juice toward themselves.

"Excellent work, really well done." Faykan said cheerfully as he joined them, settling himself down and pulling towards himself a small tray of food provided by the kitchen. Ron pulled a pile of enormously thick books out of his bag, all with titles relating to Hippogriffs, and began to thumb through one. Ron had taken over the responsibilities of Buckbeak's appeal for Hermione, who Draco noted was very pleased to be on speaking terms with Ron again.

In fact, the only person Draco noticed that Hermione was not keen about being around was Faykan. He had seen her watching the boy as he helped Harry or Ron with their homework or training them, as if she was waiting for him to do… something. It was very disconcerting to Draco, but he knew better than to try and bring it up with either, as Faykan would simply brush it off and Hermione would just deny it, or worse, hex him. Hermione had been very touchy lately ever since Hagrid lost the Buckbeak's case. According to Harry, Ron, and Faykan, Hermione had lost complete control in Divination and went off on Professor Trelawney, storming out of her classroom and dropping the class after the fraudulent Professor had 'foreseen' Harry's untimely death for the hundredth time this year. Draco was tugged out of his thoughts by Harry arriving in the Room, and Faykan declaring their break over and to start working on trying to ward a small area of the room with a permanent shielding charm.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Never, in anyone's memory, had a Quidditch match approached in such a highly charged atmosphere. By the time the Easter holidays were over, tension between the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams and their Houses was at the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, culminating in a nasty incident in which a Gryffindor fourth year and a Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears.

Severus found these petty disputes highly irritating, as they caused him to have to play the role of 'mediator' which mainly involved liberal amounts of point deduction and detention toward both houses, although the Gryffindor's punishments tended to be more public and embarrassing. Severus was just returning to his offices after dealing with a group of fighting teens when he heard the sounds of scuffling and muted voices in an unused classroom. Hoping that it was not another group of students trying to hex each other, Severus disillusioned himself, and crept into the room through the partially opened door.

Theodore Nott was dragging another student deeper into the classroom, but Severus couldn't tell who the smaller body was yet. Nott waved his wand at the door, which closed and locked itself with a squelching sound, and Severus moved closer to try and see what the boy was up too.

"I didn't want this to happen, but I couldn't find a way to talk to you alone." Nott was mumbling to the petrified student below him. He rummaged through other person's robes until he pulled out his victim's wand, pocketing it before turning the body over.

It was Undol.

The smaller boy was scowling up at Nott as the Slytherin bent over him again; talking into the boy's ear so he could not miss what was said. Severus cast the tiny listening charm that he used often in the Great Hall. "I'm going to release you from the body bind Undol; I just wanted to talk to you without Potter or Weasley around." Nott was saying. The boy waved his wand again and Undol's body relaxed, allowing him to slowly get to his feet. Nott smiled, watching as Undol moved away from him, positioning his back against the far wall and scowling back. "You wanted to talk, so talk Nott; and I would appreciate you lowering your wand." He added, noting that it was still pointed at him.

Nott did so, his face still showing how much he was enjoying having both his and Undol wands in his possession. He took a few tentative steps toward Undol, continuing to watch him with an almost feral glint in his eye, and finally cleared his throat, "Why do you hate me?" he asked in a quiet, calm voice

Undol raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, "You mean besides the fact that you're a jealous, pompous, arse?" he sneered back. "Or the fact that you are trying to get Hagrid fired, Harry expelled, and Buckbeak killed?"

"Ha ha," Nott laughed back lamely, but stopped abruptly, "You know what I mean… I can see the pure hatred in your eyes." he took another step toward Undol; they were nearly nose to nose, Nott tilting his neck to look down at Undol. Severus saw that the shorter boy was shifting uncomfortably at their closeness.

Nott lowered his voice but Severus had no trouble hearing his words, "Why, why do you reject me? We're both purebloods… both cunning, powerful, and influential. Yet you allow your potential to be wasted, first by commanding the Sorting Hat to place you in an inferior house, and then by wasting your affection on one who does not even realize it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Undol replied, squirming slightly, trying to find a way out. Nott place his hands against the wall on either side of Undol, preventing any attempt at escape and continued talking, ignoring Undol's protests. "I've seen your power from the first day at Hogwarts, blazing around you like living fire. You hide it remarkably well, but not well enough. Surely you know that your feelings won't be returned in the way you desire? But…" Nott lowered one hand to stroke Undol's face, causing the smaller boy to flinch away, but he could not evade Nott with how close together they were. Tilting Undol's chin up to make the smaller boy look at him, Nott continued, "But, I would give you all you deserve: affection, care, notice, even… love. But you refuse me, why? I would do so much for you, even let the hippogriff live. I could do it, one letter to my father and the beast would go free. If…"

Undol's eyes were wide as Nott put his free arm around Undol's waist, pulling them flush against each other. "If?" Undol whispered, and Severus could hear a note of fear in his voice.

"If, you give up your crush on _him_, and be with me instead, like you should have from the beginning." Nott leaned forward, running the tip of his nose along Undol's jaw, causing him to shudder. "Please," Undol asked in a small voice, "Please, stop… I can't."

"And again I ask, why? He'll never give you what you want from him, but I would. Just let me prove it to you…" and Nott gripped the shorter boy's face to keep him still, and pressed his lips to Undol's.

Undol shuddered and tried to turn his head away, but Nott's grip on him only tightened. The taller boy pressed himself upon Undol, trapping his body between Nott's and the wall, and Nott ran a hand down the side of Undol's torso, trying to relax the boy. Slowly, ever so slowly, Undol did, encircling his arms around Nott's lean frame, but Severus saw his hands reaching for the pocket of Nott's robes. Nott however, clearly misunderstood Undol's motions for acceptance, and maneuvered himself to brush Undol's groin with himself.

The reaction was immediate. Undol cried out, twisted out of Nott's grasp, and brought one leg up violently, connecting directly between Nott's legs. The tall Slytherin crumpled to the floor, writhing in pain as Undol scowled down at him, his wand back in his hand and his eyes narrowed in revulsion. "I told you before Nott, time and again. I don't care about blood, or power, or anything that you could hope to offer me. Your kind disgust me, and I would rather have no notice of my desires than a lifetime of your version of _happiness_. Never touch me again. Don't speak to me, or to anyone else, of this ever."

And he stormed off to the door, only turning back after he removed the locking charms, "Your obsession frightens me Theodore. It is only a shadow and a dream that you desire in me. Even if there was anything possible between us, I could not give you what you expect. I am truly sorry for you. Find someone who shares your views, perhaps a nice _girl_… or Parkinson for that matter." With that, Faykan disappeared into the corridor, and out of sight.

Nott continued to whimper and moan on the floor for several minutes, but Severus didn't stay. They boy got what he deserved for trying to force himself upon someone as capable as Undol. The last thing he heard before ending the eavesdropping spell were Nott's only coherent words since Undol's knee connected with his genitals. "I will not give you up Faykan Undol… Potter will never love you in return, so you will be mine, one way or another."

Severus stopped dead when he heard this. Undol was infatuated with Potter? There was no possibility that it was true love, thirteen-year-olds had no understanding of the concept. However… Severus had been in love from a far younger age. He shook himself. No! This was not the time or place to think of Lily Potter. Albus had to be filled in on not only the events of the last few minutes, but of the presumptions that Mr. Nott had just placed so delicately into their hands. Potter would be protected, even if they had to drag the boy kicking and screaming to his destiny. Albus' mantra rang through Severus' mind "_For the greater good_…"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus watched the final Quidditch match of the season with a mild expression. He had no doubts that Gryffindor would win this season, as the combination of Harry's skill, superior quality broom, and excellent workings with the rest of the team pushed them far ahead of the abilities of the Slytherins. This confidence allowed the Headmaster to focus on more important matters, such as the ever interesting dilemma of Mr. Faykan Undol. Severus had recently informed Albus about the interesting encounter between Mr. Undol and Theodore Nott of Slytherin. Apparently the young boy was convinced that young Faykan had a boyhood crush on Harry, which, in Albus' humble opinion, wasn't hard to imagine, who wouldn't wish to be with the 'Boy-Who-Lived.' It also was the perfect cover for Mr. Undol to accomplish whatever sinister plans he had to tear Harry from Albus' designs.

Yes, an interesting development, but not completely important. It might be of use to throw off the boy, show him a vision of Harry in pain to shake him up, throw off his guard for a well timed Legilimens or dosage of Veritaserum. No, what was far more interesting was Theodore's seeming obsession with Faykan's power. Albus knew for a fact that what the young Nott was feeling for Mr. Undol was not love, but simply a mixture of compulsion and physical attraction, much like what Albus himself had felt for Gellert back when they were youths. The attraction was probably magnified by Nott's ability to physically see powerful magical auras, which could lead him to attempt very foolish things simple to be with the other boy. Albus had instructed Severus not to interfere with any future interaction between Faykan and Theodore, but to simple set someone to watch them, some third year Ravenclaws would love the chance to study someone with that much magical potential without being seen. Severus had suggested this, and Albus agreed, even choosing the students to be taught the Lynx Eye spell for their 'extra assignment' of studying Mr. Undol.

So absorbed in his train of thought was Albus that he almost didn't notice Harry's spectacular capture of the Snitch, winning both the match and the Cup for Gryffindor. The crowds of cheering students from all houses but Slytherin were carrying the Gryffindor team towards where Albus sat, and Severus pressed the Quidditch Cup into his hands. Albus stood, watching with an amused smile as Harry and his friends bobbed their way toward him, and Oliver Wood gratefully accepted the trophy from Albus, passing it to Harry, trying to hide his sobbing.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.

But they couldn't. Exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. Harry, Ron, Draco, Hermione, and Faykan were spending as much free time in the Room of Requirement as possible. Faykan had asked the room to provide a pair of windows overlooking the ground to allow a breeze in, as the weather was starting to become comfortably warm, but it led to distractions for everyone. The grounds just seemed so inviting instead of pouring over books or trying to change small chairs into wooden sculptures. Faykan had started showing them combat uses for Transfiguration, such as changing thrown objects into deadly projectiles, up to shifting your opponent into a harmless animal. Faykan didn't expect any of them to be able to do the more advanced things for a long time, but he felt that it would be beneficial for them to see the possibilities.

Harry, Ron, and Draco had given up asking Hermione how she was managing to attend several classes at once, but they couldn't restrain themselves when they saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself. Sure enough, she had all her exams times double booked the entire week. Ron was currently trying to worm the truth out of Hermione, to no avail, just as Hedwig fluttered into the Room, and settled on Harry's chair, a note clutched in her beak.

"It's from Hagrid," said Harry, ripping the note open. "Buckbeak's appeal… it's set for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," said Hermione, looking around her double tables for her Arithmancy book.

"And they're coming up here to do it," said Harry, still reading from the letter. "Someone from the Ministry and… and an executioner."

Everyone looked up from their various activities at Harry's words.

"They're bringing the executioner to the appeal!" Hermione said, startled, "but that sounds as though they've already decided!"

"But they can't have!" Ron howled. "I've spent ages reading up on stuff for Hagrid; they can't just ignore it all!"

"Ignoring things is what the Ministry is best at, unfortunately." Faykan said glumly.

"Especially when someone else's gold is clinking in their pockets…" Draco added angrily.

Harry had the horrible feeling, and was sure that everyone else agreed that the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had had its mind made up for it by Mr. Nott and Mr. Malfoy. Theodore, who had been noticeably subdued ever since the Gryffindor's triumph in the Quidditch final, seemed to regain some of his old swagger over the next few days. From sneering comments at Harry and Faykan, to pointed glares in classrooms, it could be gleaned that Nott was certain that Buckbeak was going to be killed, and he seemed rather pleased about it.

And the worst thing of all was that they had no time or opportunity to go and see Hagrid, because the security measures had not been lifted, and Harry didn't dare go retrieve his Invisibility Cloak from below the one eyed witch.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Exam week began with an unnatural hush falling over the castle. The third years emerged after three hours of Transfiguration limp and ashen-faced, many comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks they had been set, the hardest of which was turning a teapot into a tortoise. Thankfully, because of Faykan's training them all in Transfiguration that year, Hermione had done extremely well. Professor McGonagall's only complaint had been that she may have confused a turtle with a tortoise, but had given her full marks regardless.

After their hasty lunch, the four Gryffindors headed back up for their Charms exam. Hermione's worries were confirmed; Professor Flitwick indeed tested them all on Cheering Charms. Harry slightly overdid his on Faykan, because of the overexcitement he had felt from his friend's spell, and it caused Faykan to burst into fits of laughter, and Professor Flitwick excused them as to not disrupt the rest of the students that had not yet been tested. Faykan had had to sling his arm around Harry for support and stumbled down the stairs to dinner in drunken giddiness.

Dinner was just as quick as lunch, as the students had to dash back to the common rooms to study for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy for the next day's exams.

Hagrid presided over the Care of Magical Creature exam the following morning with a very preoccupied air; his heart didn't seem to be in it at all. He had provided a large tub of fresh flobberworms for the class, and told them that to pass the test; their flobberworm had to be alive at the end of one hour. As flobberworms flourished best if left alone, it was the easiest exam anyone had ever taken, and also gave the four Gryffindors their opportunity at last to talk to Hagrid.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin cooped up too long. But still... we'll know day after tomorrow… one way or the other…"

They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster. Try as Harry might, he hadn't gotten his Confusing Concoction to thicken, and Snape, standing watch with an air of vindictive pleasure around them all, scribbled something that looked suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before moving away to check Faykan's. Hermione signed, sometimes Snape was just savagely cruel to Harry, Ron, and especially Faykan.

Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower; History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Faykan could be heard banging his head softly on his desk every few minutes, clearly disgusted with the questions that he had no answers to. Hermione didn't understand why Faykan couldn't be bothered to look in any history book, but he seemed to shun them with intense dislike. Wednesday afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under a baking-hot sun; then back to the common room once more, with sun burnt necks, thinking longingly of this time next day when it would all be over.

Their second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new boggart.

Hermione was behind Faykan as they made their way through the course. Ron was ahead of him with Harry in the lead. Professor Lupin muttered something to Harry as he emerged from the trunk at the very end, which caused Harry to smile widely. Harry hung around to watch the rest of them finish. Ron did very well until he reached the hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Faykan did everything perfectly, and emerged from the trunk rather pale and rubbing his chest in pain. Professor Lupin handed him a small piece of chocolate and a small vial of pain relief potion.

And it was finally Hermione's turn. She did perfectly fine until she reached the trunk. She hesitated slightly, wondering what her greatest fear could possibly be. Inhaling sharply, she climbed inside.

"_Lumos_," she muttered, lighting her wand.

A human shaped form stepped out of the shadows in the opposite corner of the trunk. The shoulder length black hair and gleaming red eyes caused Hermione to back up in horror. Faykan, the same Faykan from her dark vision, grinned maliciously at her fear. The golden locket bounced on his chest as he drew out the black ebony wand from his robes, and pointed it at her. Hermione scratched and clawed for the trunk latch as Faykan opened his mouth, "_Avada_…" the door burst open and she ran, screaming her head off.

"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?"

Hermione had to think fast, she couldn't just tell the truth, "P-P-Professor McGonagall!" she gasped, pointing into the trunk, and pulling the first thought out of her mind she could find. "Sh-she said I'd failed everything!"

Professor Lupin, Harry, Ron, and Faykan took almost an hour to calm her down; it was hard when she thought that the evil Faykan would step out of the trunk any moment and start to attack them all.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

When at last Hermione regained a grip on herself, she, Harry, Ron, and Faykan made their way back to the castle. Ron was still inclined to laugh at Hermione's boggart, but Faykan was keen to keep him distracted from going on about it.

"Hello there, Harry!" came a voice from the top of the stairs in front of the castle. It was Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes." replied Harry. Faykan just eyed the Minister, while Ron and Hermione hovered awkwardly in the background, them not being on speaking terms with him.

"Lovely day," Fudge continued, casting an eye over to the lake, "Pity… pity…"

He sighed deeply and looked down at the four Gryffindors.

"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"So, that means that the appeal is going to be ignored does it?" Faykan said, putting a hand on Ron, who had stepped forward to interrupt.

"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," said Fudge, looking curiously at Faykan, "Have we met before young man?"

"Yes, at the Malfoy Yuletide party, I was with Harry when you introduced him to Madam Umbridge…"

"Oh yes, that was a lovely party wasn't it?" Fudge said, smiling slightly. Just then two wizards came through the castle doors behind Fudge. One was so ancient he appeared to be withering before their very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin back mustache. Harry gathered that they were representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted toward Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this... Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?"

The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; Harry looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb along the blade of a shining axe. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the entrance hall.

"Why'd you stop me?" said Ron angrily as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!"

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" said Hermione, but she too looked very upset. "As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak..."

But Harry could tell Hermione didn't really believe what she was saying.

Harry, Faykan, and Ron's last exam was Divination; Hermione's, Muggle Studies. They walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left them on the first floor and the three boys proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of their class were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.

"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed them as they went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of '_Unfogging the Future_' open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.

"Nope," said Ron in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; Harry knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started. The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?" But they all refused to say. Ron grimaced when his name was called, and returned twenty minutes later shaking his head sadly. Faykan had a small smile on his face as he was called. Harry knew it was because Trelawney thought him a genius at Divination, and was likely to accept anything he told her as true predictions.

Finally, it was Harry's turn. The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.

"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb... Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..."

Harry bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as he could, willing it to show him something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened.

"Well?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?" The heat was overpowering and his nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside them. He thought of what Faykan had done while teaching him and his friends Occlumency, and decided that it was worth a try. He sighed, clearing his mind, but to no avail. So he just made some stuff up about seeing a hippogriff, but Trelawney didn't seem pleased about it. He finally got up to leave, but then a loud, harsh voice spoke behind him.

"_It will happen tonight_."

Harry wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sagging.

"S-sorry?" said Harry.

But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to roll. Harry sat there in a panic. She looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure. He hesitated, thinking of running to the hospital wing, and then Professor Trelawney spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own:

"_The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight… The servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight… before midnight… the servant… will set out… to rejoin… his master_…"

Professor Trelawney's head fell forward onto her chest. She made a grunting sort of noise. Harry sat there, staring at her. Then, quite suddenly, Professor Trelawney's head snapped up again.

"I'm so sorry, dear boy," she said dreamily, "the heat of the day, you know... I drifted off for a moment..."

Harry sat there, staring at her.

"Is there anything wrong, my dear?"

"No… nothing…" Harry replied slowly, and left the room, dashing back to Gryffindor Tower.

**_HEY! HEY! REVIEW! LISTEN! HEY! HEY!_**

**_Seriously, REVIEW PLEASE!_**


	15. Chapter 14

**Wow i am incredicble please with the review turnout for the last Chapter, and i didn't even have to threaten anyone for them XD... Please, keep it up, your words keep me sharp and happy enough to continue writing!**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Treachery**

Draco sat in the Slytherin common room, basking in the fact that all exams were finished, when he overheard Theodore Nott storming out of their dormitory with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. He was gloating about how Buckbeak was going to be killed soon, and that he was asking his father if he could donate the beast's head to the Gryffindor common room's décor. The two half-trolls chuckled at that, and together they left the common room, heading for Merlin-knew-where. Draco shook his head. Nott was becoming a huge pain, constantly following around after Harry and Faykan, mocking and antagonizing them, especially Faykan.

Draco sighed. He was exhausted, and was waiting for Nott to leave so he could lie down in peace. The third year Slytherin dormitory had five beds arranged around the rectangular room, each giving them their own small cubby of space. Draco lay down on his four-poster and sighed into his pillow in delight. His back straightened, and several distinct popping sounds signaled the realigning of his spine. There was a small cough from the other side of the room. Draco looked up from his pillow to meet the eyes of Blaise Zabini. The Italian boy was sitting against his headboard, reading from a Quidditch magazine.

"What?" Draco asked, slightly annoyed. Blaise was rather quiet, but seemed to think himself better than everyone, including other purebloods.

Zabini raised his eyebrows as he looked over at Draco, "Nothing Malfoy, just enjoying the lower temperature since Nott left the room."

Draco snorted, "Yeah, he is rather insufferable these days."

Blaise smiled as he returned to his magazine. Draco closed his eyes, ready to drift off, but Blaise spoke again, "So, what is with Undol?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Draco said sleepily, rolling back to face the other boy.

"I mean, he was dancing and talking with my mother at your parents Yule party, and has been exchanging letters with her every few months since then, but she won't tell me anything about it when I ask her. I wanted to know if you knew anything related."

This time it was Draco's turn to raise his eyebrows. "I had no idea that Faykan had any more contact with anyone from that party, he's a rather a private person to be truthful…" he answered honestly.

"Don't you find it odd, that you know very little about such a close friend?" Zabini asked

Draco found it very odd to tell the truth, but he kept silent as he returned to trying to sleep.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione looked up from the fireplace as Harry burst into the common room, red faced and rather winded. Both Ron and Faykan turned from reading the note they had just received from Hagrid. Hermione had already seen it and was shocked at the news.

'_Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it._

_Hagrid_'

"Professor Trelawney," Harry panted, "just told me…"

But he stopped abruptly at the sight of their faces.

"Buckbeak lost," said Ron weakly. "Hagrid's just sent this."

He held the note out for Harry to read. He scanned it quickly, and his red face suddenly paled dramatically.

"We've got to go," Harry said at once. "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!"

"Sunset, though," said Ron, who was staring out the window in a glazed sort of way. "We'd never be allowed... 'specially you, Harry..."

Harry sank his head into his hands, clearly thinking.

"If we only had the Invisibility Cloak..."

"Where is it?" Hermione said quickly, a plan formulating in her mind. Harry explained about the one eyed witch statue on the third floor, and the methods of opening it, and how he had left the cloak in the passageway beneath it.

"… if Snape sees me or Faykan anywhere near there again, We're sure to be in serious trouble," he finished.

"True," Hermione said, grinning as she stood. "If he sees either of _you_… How do you open the witch's hump again?"

"You tap it with a wand and say '_Dissendium_,'" Faykan replied, "But…"

Hermione didn't wait; she bolted to the portrait hole and down to the statue to retrieve the cloak for them. She returned fifteen minutes later, the cloak folded carefully under her robes. Harry and Ron's jaws dropped as she revealed it. Faykan, standing behind them, smiled widely at her.

"Hermione, I don't know what has gotten into you lately!" Ron said astounded.

Hermione blushed, flattered at his praise.

They went down to dinner with everybody else, but did not return to Gryffindor Tower afterward. Harry had the cloak hidden down the front of his robes; he had to keep his arms folded to hide the lump. They skulked in an empty chamber off the entrance hall, listening, until they were sure it was deserted. They heard a last pair of people hurrying across the hall and a door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door.

"Okay," she whispered, "no one there… cloak on."

Walking very close together so that nobody would see them, they crossed the hall on tiptoe beneath the cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gilding the top branches of the trees. Faykan had changed into his fox form to ease up room beneath the cloak, and he trotted ahead of them, his tongue lolling slightly out of his mouth as he sniffed around, acting like a normal animal for the sake of anyone who might be watching from windows. Faykan's ears perked sideways and he turned, looking into the forest near the cabin as they approached. Before any of them knew what was going on, Faykan bolted into the trees and disappeared.

"What's with him?" Ron asked, dumbfounded.

"Must have heard or smelt something." Hermione said, confused. Faykan usually wouldn't have left them like in a situation like this.

"He must have a good reason, comm'on… Hagrid." Harry said, moving them forward to the door.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

They reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He was a minute in answering, and when he did, he looked all around for his visitor, pale-faced and trembling.

"It's us," Harry hissed. "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back, and they stepped inside. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled off the cloak.

Hagrid was not crying, nor did he throw himself upon their necks. He looked like a man who did not know where he was or what to do. This helplessness was worse to watch than tears.

"Wan' some tea?" he said. His great hands were shaking as he reached for the kettle.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" said Hermione hesitantly.

"I… I took him outside," said Hagrid, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an', an' smell fresh air… before…"

Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor.

"I'll do it, Hagrid," said Hermione quickly, hurrying over and starting to clean up the mess.

"There's another one in the cupboard," Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry glanced at Ron, who looked back hopelessly.

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to him. "Dumbledore…"

"He's tried," said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared... Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like... threatened 'em, I expect... an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy and Nott's... but it'll be quick an' clean... an' I'll be beside 'im... "

Hagrid swallowed. His eyes were darting all over the cabin as though looking for some shred of hope or comfort.

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it… while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter… ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..."

Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. She straightened up with the new jug in her hands, fighting back tears.

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid," she began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway... If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in big trouble."

Silent tears were now streaming down Hermione's face, but she hid them from Hagrid, bustling around making tea. Then, as she picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a shriek.

"Ron, I don't believe it… it's Scabbers!"

Ron gaped at her.

"What are you talking about?"

Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.

"Scabbers!" said Ron blankly. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"

He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself

"It's okay, Scabbers!" said Ron. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window. His normally ruddy face had gone the color of parchment.

"They're comin'..."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione whipped around. A group of men was walking own the distant castle steps. In front was Albus Dumbledore, his silver beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next to him trotted Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old Committee member and the executioner, Macnair.

"Yeh gotta go," said Hagrid. Every inch of him was trembling. "They mustn' find yeh here... Go now..."

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hermione picked up the cloak. "I'll let yeh out the back way," said Hagrid.

They followed him to the door into his back garden. Harry felt strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's Pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned his sharp head from side to side and pawed the ground nervously.

"It's okay, Beaky," said Hagrid softly. "It's okay..." He turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Go on," he said. "Get goin'."

They had no choice. As Hermione threw the cloak over Harry and Ron, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight.

"Go quick," he said hoarsely. "Don' listen..."

And he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door.

Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off silently around Hagrid's house. As they reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap.

"Please, let's hurry," Hermione whispered. "I can't stand it, I can't bear it..."

They started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby red glow.

Ron stopped dead. Hermione tugged on him to get them moving again, but Ron complained that Scabbers wouldn't stop squirming in his grasp. The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

Hermione swayed on the spot. "They did it!" she whispered to Harry. "I d-don't believe it… they did it!"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Crookshanks could smell the rat man, even though he could not see him. The dog man and the ancient fox had formulated a plan to capture the rat, and it was Crookshanks' job to drive the rat man away from the children, to protect them while they sprung the trap.

He crawled toward the scents of the children, and could hear the red haired boy struggling and talking at the rat man and his mistress calling at him.

"No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the plan had to work for the safety of his mistress and her friends, so Crookshanks stalked forward further.

"Scabbers… NO!"

And the rat man dashed out of thin air. Crookshanks dived after him, the red haired boy behind him, bursting out of the area of nothing that the humans were hiding inside.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry and Hermione almost fell over Ron in their haste to follow him; they skidded to a stop right in front of him. They had chased after him as he ran after Crookshanks and Scabbers. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron… come on back under the cloak…" Hermione panted. "Dumbledore, the Minister… they'll be coming back out in a minute…"

But before they could get the cloak back over Ron, before they could even catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws… something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow, an enormous, pale eyed, jet black dog.

Hermione stood wide eyed, watching as the dog leapt at Harry, and caught him with its front paws, knocking him to the ground and bounding past because of the force is its jump. It was growling as it skidded around for a new attack.

But Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry and Hermione aside; the dog's jaws latched instead around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry lunged, seizing the dog, but the beast ignored them, dragging Ron as easily as a rag doll.

Then out of nowhere, something hit Hermione and she fell, shrieking with pain. At her side she saw Harry fall.

They both groped for their wands. "_Lumos_!" they murmured together.

The wandlight showed him the trunk of a thick tree; they had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them going nearer.

And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots… and Faykan, standing with his back to the trunk, oblivious to the madly swinging branches. He was stroking his hands across the trunk, speaking soothing words to the tree, causing it to ignore himself and the giant dog. "Faykan?" Harry cried, and the boy turned his bright blue eyes to them.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "_Ra orn putta sen_" _[1]_ the branched flailed again, creating a deadly shroud around Faykan as he changed into a fox, and dived into a hole at the base of the tree. Ron was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight.

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backward again.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground, but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"Harry, we've got to go for help…" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"No!" Harry gasped, struggling madly to try and get closer to the tree, "We haven't got time…"

"Harry… we're never going to get through without help…"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If they can get in, we can," Harry panted, darting between the writhing branches, trying to find a way in.

"Oh what to do… what to do?" Hermione said to herself, "Help, oh help please," she said to no one in particular.

Crookshanks darted forward from the darkness. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paw upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly the tree froze all movement ceasing. "Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She reached forward and clutched Harry's arm. "How did he know?"

"Because he's friends with that dog… and Faykan…" Harry replied grimly, bitterness dripping off his voice, "Come on… keep out your wand…"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside him.

"Where's Ron?" she whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way," said Harry, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly from behind him.

"I don't know... It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it... It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade..."

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks' tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes... All Harry could think of was Ron and what Faykan and the enormous dog might be doing to him... He was drawing breath in sharp, painful gasps, running at a crouch; every thought of Faykan at the moment filled him with confused rage...

And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, Harry could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

He and Hermione paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. Both raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened but nodded. Harry pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm again. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Harry," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. Both of them looked up at the ceiling. Hermione's grip on Harry's arm was so tight he was losing feeling in his fingers. He raised his eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let go.

Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.

They reached the dark landing. "_Nox_," they whispered together, and the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open. On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Sirius was watching the door to the bedroom while Faykan kept his wand on the red haired boy. Sirius knew that Harry and the bushy haired girl would come for their friend. Then he could explain everything and deal with Peter in one go. Faykan sniffed once, and Sirius looked at him. The boy looked slightly forlorn; he had had a lot of resentment about his part of the plan, keeping the Whomping Willow from hurting Sirius as he pulled the rat, or as it turned out the boy with the rat, into the secret passage. Sirius had seen the look of betrayal and pain on Harry's face as Faykan used his special gift with the tree to prevent them from following until Crookshanks would intervene. It had torn through the boy's heart.

"Don't worry," Sirius whispered, "If Harry is anything like his father, he'll understand, eventually." Faykan smiled slightly, and at that moment Harry and his friend burst into the room, darting straight to the red haired boy.

"Ron… are you okay?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," the red haired boy, Ron, moaned. His teeth were gritted in pain. "Harry, it's a trap…"

"What…"

"He's the dog… he's an Animagus, just like _him_."

Ron was staring right at Sirius and Faykan across the room. Harry wheeled around, along with the brown haired girl. Sirius shut the door with a snap as he and Faykan stepped out of the shadows.

Faykan sadly flicked his wand, disarming both his friends, and caught their wands, his eyes downcast. But Sirius had eyes only for his best friend's son.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said, his voice still rather hoarse, even after all this time out of Azkaban. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you both, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…"

He had clearly said the wrong thing. All emotion left Harry's eyes as Sirius mentioned James. The boy lunged for Sirius, but his friends held him back, "No Harry!" the girl gasped. Ron tried to stand and speak to Black and Faykan.

"If you two want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" he said fiercely, and he swayed slightly from the loss of blood.

"Ron, lie down," Faykan said calmly to the boy, "You'll hurt yourself more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron replied weakly, clutching to Harry just to stay upright. "You'll have to kill all three of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight," Sirius said, grinning as he watched Peter squirm in Ron's pocket.

"Why's that?" Harry spat at him, straining to wrench himself free from Ron and the girl. "You didn't care last time. You didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew… What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Harry," Faykan said softly, "It's not what you…"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared back, and with a huge effort he broke free of his friends and lunged at Sirius.

Faykan stepped between them, spreading his arms wide and blocked Harry from attacking Sirius.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Harry yelled at him, but Faykan wouldn't move.

"No, Harry." He said, looking directly into the boy's face.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY, I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!" Harry roared, spittle flying into Faykan's face.

"No!" Faykan yelled back, "I won't let you, not until we've explained why we did this."

"YOU!" Harry screamed at him, trying to push past and get at Sirius. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THIS TIME! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEND, BUT YOU HELP THE MAN WHO WANTS TO KILL ME?"

"Please Harry," Faykan pleaded, "please calm down and listen to us."

"I'M NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR HIM TO KILL ME!" Harry scream, launching himself at Faykan, who refused to budge, and caught the full force of Harry's charge. Harry latched his hands around his friend's throat, straining to squeeze the life out of him. Faykan clawed at Harry's fingers, pleading with his bulging eyes, while their two friends shouted from across the room.

"Y-you don't… argh… understand… Harry," Faykan gasped, struggling to breathe as Harry choked him. "Pl-please… let us explain…" he sagged to his knees, Harry hands still around his throat. His, Harry's and the girl's wands clattering to the floor and he struggled to remove Harry's hands.

"NO!" Sirius yelled, springing to pry the boy's hands off, but the girl attacked him with a strong kick, and the boy, Ron, threw himself at Sirius' wand arm.

He fell, the boy's wand he had taken flying from his hand to join the pile on the floor, which the girl recollected and returned to Harry and Ron, keeping hers and Faykan's. Harry took his wand, releasing Faykan, who gasped and panted on the floor, while Harry pointed it at Sirius.

"Going to kill me Harry?" Sirius whispered.

"You killed my parents," Harry replied, his voice shaking, but his wand hand quite steady. Sirius didn't doubt that the boy could kill him in an instant right now.

"I don't deny it," Sirius replied very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"N-no!" Faykan gasped, trying to get up, but still unsteady from the lack of oxygen.

"The whole story?" Harry repeated. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know.

"Harry…" Faykan moaned quietly, but the boy ignored him.

"You've got to listen to me," Sirius said, urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't... You don't understand..."

"I understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, and his voice shook more than ever. "You never heard her, did you? My mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing me... and you did that... you did it..."

Before either of them could say another word, Faykan threw himself over Sirius, directly in the path of Harry's wand, shielding Sirius from any curse Harry could possibly have cast.

"Move Faykan," Harry said coldly, "He deserves it,"

"Deserves it!" Faykan said, his voice rough, but regaining its strength rapidly, "Don't be too eager to deal out death in judgement Harry. Even the very wise cannot see all ends." He looked up into the emerald green eyes that glowed with fury. "Many that live deserve death," Faykan continued in a tiny voice, "And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them Harry?"

Harry stared down at them both, but his wand arm was trembling now. Sirius wondered if he was considering killing them both, the friend that betrayed him and the supposed murderer of his parents. He raised the wand, his eyes darting from Faykan's face to Sirius'. The seconds lengthened, but he stood there frozen, ready to cast a curse.

And then a new sound came from beneath them. Footsteps, echoing up through the floor, someone was coming up the stairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" the girl screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE… SIRIUS BLACK… QUICK!"

The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks, causing Harry to wheel around as Remus Lupin, wonderful Remus hurtled into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyed surveyed the room quickly.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Remus shouted, causing all the wands in the room to sail into his free hand. Sirius breathed a small sigh of relief.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry stood there, wandless and empty. He hadn't done it. His nerve had failed him. Black would be handed to the dementors, and vengeance would pass from him. Harry wondered absently what would happen to Faykan when they found out he had been helping Black from the beginning. Harry was so lost, his best friend had betrayed him; helping a murder get so close to him, and almost kill him.

Then Professor Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again.

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

"But then..." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless…" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "…unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on…?"

But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixed at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet, and embraced Black like a brother. Faykan stood shakily afterward, and stood in a corner trying to stop his hands from trembling.

Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild eyed. "You… you…"

"Hermione…"

"…you too!"

"Hermione, calm down…"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering up for you," she glanced at Faykan as well, "Both of you."

"Hermione, listen to me, please" Lupin shouted. "I can explain…"

Harry could feel himself shaking again with a fresh wave of fury.

"I trusted you," Harry yelled, partially at Lupin and partially at Faykan, who shrank back as if physically struck, "and all this time you've both been helping him, all this time you've been his friends!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius' friend, but I am now… Let me explain…"

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust them, they've been helping Black into the castle, and they clearly want you dead too… Lupin is a werewolf!"

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, "How long have you known?"

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay..."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant... Did you check the lunar chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff does."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf!" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

Faykan laughed slightly, watching his feet, and he mumbled something that sounded like, "Dumbledore… mad…"

"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy…"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"

He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, beckoning for Faykan to come over to him. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring as Faykan joined him, standing in front of Black, still not looking up. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"I have not been helping Sirius," said Lupin. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look…"

He separated Harry's, Ron's, Faykan's, and Hermione's wands and threw each back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned. Faykan's hit him and clattered back to the floor. He didn't even try to pick it up again so Black did it for him, handing him the wand. Faykan took it and looked at it confused, then slowly put it in his robes.

"There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Harry didn't know what to think. Was it a trick?

"If you haven't been helping them," he said, with a furious glance at Faykan and Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it…"

"You know how to work it?" Harry said suspiciously.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, waving his hand impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony… that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You wrote…?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, Faykan, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I."

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry…"

"How'd you know about the cloak?"

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it...," said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds, watched as Faykan broke off to disappear into the forest, and as you entered Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. It seemed to every time I looked at Faykan's dot, but how could _he_ be with you?"

"No one was with us!" said Harry.

"And then I saw another pair of dots, moving fast toward you, labeled Sirius Black, and Faykan Undol... I saw Sirius collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow, followed quickly by Faykan…"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you."

He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron.

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" said Ron. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything," said Lupin. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared.

"What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat," croaked Sirius Black suddenly. Even Faykan's eyes widened.

"What d'you mean… of course he's a rat…" Ron stammered

"No, he's not," said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"You're mental, all three of you!" Ron cried.

"Ridiculous!" said Hermione faintly.

"Of course…" Faykan breathed, looking at Scabbers.

"No." Harry said firmly, "Pettigrew's dead. You killed him." He declared, pointing at Black.

"I meant to…" he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me…" he then turned to look at Lupin again. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"

"But there were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," Harry said, ignoring Ron's mutterings of 'nutters, the lot of them.'

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself, until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all, but why was Lupin or Faykan playing along with him?

Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.

"But Professor Lupin... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew... it just can't be true, you know it can't..."

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework - the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things... and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."

"Was my name on the list Hermione?" Faykan said suddenly. Hermione opened her mouth, but didn't speak.

"Unregistered Animagi exist everywhere Hermione. It is not unheard of for three to have run around Hogwarts unnoticed."

"If you two would like to get a move on," Black said, still watching Scabbers, "I've waited twelve years; I'm not going to wait much longer…"

_[1] Ra orn putta sen : Great tree stop them_

**_Please, Continue Reviewing! Darkness may consume your soul if you do not (possiblity of survival in 99.9% of cases)_**


	16. Chapter 15

**Mmmm, another Chapter for you all. More plot filler sadly, but I'm already schemeing how best to make it more interesting when I get around to rewriting the entire beginning books. One of my major goals later on, trust me. anyway... Enjoy!**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**The Wraiths of Azkaban**

Severus crept up the stairs of the Shrieking Shack, following the sounds of voices. He reached the door and shifted inside as he heard Lupin break off from talking to Black. He silently thanked Merlin for Potter's Invisibility Cloak, since everyone had looked at the door as it swung open.

Lupin strode to the door and looked out into the landing as Severus moved to the far wall of the room, away from Potter, his friends, Black, and Lupin.

"No one there…" Lupin muttered.

"This place is haunted!" Weasley said stupidly.

"It's not," Lupin said, still looking puzzled at the door. He then began to explain about their days at school, how he had been allowed even as a werewolf to come to Hogwarts, and that he had been shipped to this room every month for his full moon transformation.

He continued with how Black, Potter, and Pettigrew had grown aware of his statue, and chose to become Animagi to be with him during his transformations. He was just talking about when Black had tried to kill Severus when he decided to make himself known.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Potter was saying to Lupin, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," Severus sneered, pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing, directly at Lupin.

Granger screamed. Black leapt to his feet, knocking Undol aside slightly while Potter just stood frozen in the middle of the room.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," Severus commented, tossing the cloak aside on a chair, careful to keep his wand on Lupin. "Very useful Potter, I thank you…"

Severus was slightly breathless, and he looked around the room for a moment. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he continued after a moment, "You forgot to take your potion tonight, Lupin, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus…" Lupin began, but Severus overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout…"

"Severus, you're making a mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything… I can explain: Sirius is not here to kill Harry…"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Severus hissed, gloating. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame werewolf…"

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Severus' wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started toward Severus, but he merely pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes.

"Give me a reason," he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."

Black stopped dead.

Potter stood paralyzed. Severus glanced around at the boy's friends. Weasley looked just as confused as he always did, still fighting to keep hold on his struggling rat. Granger, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape, it… it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Severus spat. "You, Potter, Undol, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue."

"But if, if there was a mistake…"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Severus shouted, desperately trying to keep his temper. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Granger fell silent.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Severus breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."

"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle," he jerked his head at Weasley "I'll come quietly..."

"Up to the castle?" said Severus silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay..."

What little color there was left in Black's face drained away.

"You… you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat… look at the rat…"

"Come on, all of you," Severus said to the Gryffindors. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too…"

Severus turned to lead them out of the room, but found his way blocked by Undol, who seemed to have materialized in the doorway.

"Get out of the way, Undol, you're in enough trouble already," Severus snarled at him. "If I hadn't been here to save all your skins…"

"You have no idea Severus," Undol said calmly, "You have no idea what has been going on and I will not allow you to kill either of these _innocent_ men."

"How dare you!" Severus breathed. The boy was clearly out of his mind, "Now get out of the way."

"I will not." And the boy raised his wand, "_Kaima_!" _[1]_ A flash of light erupted from the wand, and Severus knew no more.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry watched as Snape slumped to the floor, fast asleep, by the work of Faykan's wand. He had defended Black and Professor Lupin now, again.

"You shouldn't have done that," Black said to him, "You should have left him to me…"

"You attacked a teacher… you attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered, staring at Faykan, "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble when he wakes up…"

Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut into them.

"Thank you Mr. Undol," he said, and then tuned back to Harry, "It's time we offered you some proof," he turned to Ron, "You, boy… give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat… there are millions of rats, how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others.

It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"My God," said Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again. "His front paw..."

"What about it?" said Ron defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple... so brilliant... he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself, and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right…"

"Twelve years," said Faykan, Ron stared at him, and he shrugged, "I asked Percy about it at one point…"

"Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?" Lupin asked, nodding to himself.

"We-we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again..."

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.

But that wasn't right, Harry thought suddenly... Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks... ever since Ron's return from Egypt... since the time when Black had escaped...

"This cat isn't mad," said Black hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks' fluffy head. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. He had been helping me until Faykan here followed him out to where I had been hiding."

"That leads to my other question," Lupin said, turning to Faykan, "How do you fit into this story Mr. Undol?"

"Well, I followed Crookshanks out one night and found Sirius," Faykan explained, "I remembered seeing him in his animagus form from when I took Harry away from his relatives, so I took a guess that he was who he was. Since he had not attacked us back in Little Whinging, I presumed that he was after something other than Harry, so I chose to offer him my assistance." Faykan took a breath, glancing at Black for a moment.

"It took him a while to trust me, and he never did tell me the full story of what he was after or why he was here, but I trusted him enough to give him Neville's list of passwords to get him into Gryffindor Tower, and to help him buy Harry's Firebolt. But unfortunately I could not help him without the knowledge that he refused to tell me. I heard and smelt him near Hagrid's when we went down, so I went into the forest, met him and Crookshanks, and together we formulated the plan to get Harry, Ron, and Hermione in here. I presume Sirius knew that Peter was inside Hagrid's?" he added and Black nodded.

"You say you heard and smelt him?" Lupin asked, "How did you manage that?"

"Sirius isn't the only Animagus at Hogwarts right now," Faykan said with a grin.

"You?" Lupin said, curiosity in his voice.

"Yes, I'm a fox, the same large black one you've seen in the castle from time to time."

"Of course, your tattoos" Lupin said, slapping himself on the forehead, "Why didn't I see it before?"

Harry's brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what he was hearing. It was absurd... and yet...

"Anyway," Black interrupted, "We formed the plan to get Peter out of Hagrid's because he faked his own death again to get out of the castle… I suppose he bit himself to put blood on the bed sheets, Faykan told me on one of the days he came to visit me."

These words jolted Harry to his senses.

"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Lupin, "Harry…"

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should've helped Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down, but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father… Sirius tracked Peter down…"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly over bright.

"Harry... I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me... I'm to blame, I know it... The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done..." His voice broke. He turned away.

"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his voice Harry had never heard before. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin. "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. "Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so," said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One… two… THREE!"

A flash of blue white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly, Ron yelled, the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then…

It was like watching a speeded up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up. Faykan watched with a bored expression, as if this happened every day.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well, hello, Peter," said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius... R-Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old friends..."

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning took, and then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed…"

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

They continued like this for several minutes, Lupin trying to get answers, and Pettigrew dodging the questions intermitted with squeaks of accusation at Black. Hermione suggested that Pettigrew could have harmed Harry for the last three years, and asked about how Black had escaped Azkaban. He answered that he used his animagus ability to slip past the dementors, who have difficulty sensing animal thoughts, as they are different and less complex than human.

"Believe me," croaked Black at last. "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

And at long last, Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak, he nodded.

"No!"

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.

"Sirius, it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't…"

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," said Black.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin replied, now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course," said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.

"You wouldn't... you won't...," gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you.

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.

"Kind boy... kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron "You won't let them do it... I was your rat... I was a good pet..."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter," said Black harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hems of Faykan and Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl... clever boy... you, you won't let them... Help me..."

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified. Faykan lashed out himself, kicking Pettigrew back toward Black and Lupin.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.

"Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU

FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."

Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.

"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."

Black and Lupin both looked staggered.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."

"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors... He can go to Azkaban... but don't kill him."

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You… thank you, it's more than I deserve, thank you…"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because; I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers… just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think... think what he did..."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."

"Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Harry."

Harry hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."

Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

Faykan stepped over to Ron, "Well, I can't heal your leg, but I can make the pain stop for a few hours… there's something we all need to learn… healing," he chuckled half heartedly as he waved his wand over Ron's leg. A second wave and bandages spun up and around, strapping the leg tightly to a conjured split. "And that should prevent you from injuring it further as we get you up to the castle."

Faykan pulled Ron to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"Much better, thanks" he said.

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone figure.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "He just asleep. Ah… perhaps it will be best if we don't awaken him until we're safety back in the castle. We can take him like this..."

He muttered, "_Mobilicorpus_." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."

Both Lupin and Ron volunteered, and Black conjured manacles and attached them to Lupin's and Ron's arms, connecting them to Pettigrew.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione wondered absently what people might think if they saw their group moving along back down the passage to the Whomping Willow. Crookshanks was leading, followed by Lupin and Ron, chained with Pettigrew between them. Next came Professor Snape, drifting asleep in midair, held up by Sirius Black, using Snape's own wand. And finally herself, Faykan, and Harry brought up the rear of the strange precession.

Faykan was pointedly not looking at Harry, and Hermione could guess as to why. From the explanations from Sirius, it had torn Faykan up inside to betray them in any fashion, even if it was for their safety. Add that to nearly being strangled to death by his best friend, and the person he was secretly in love with, and Hermione was certain that Faykan was not having the best of nights.

"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free," said Harry.

"Yes..." said Black, "but I'm also, I don't know if anyone ever told you… I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry.

"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian," said Black stiffly. "If anything happened to them..."

Harry hesitated slightly, holding his breath.

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle," said Black. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."

Harry's head snapped up, and he winced as he hit a bit of protruding rock. Hermione felt a tug on her hand, keeping her back as the rest moved forward. She turned to Faykan, who released her arm after Harry and Black moved ahead a bit. "Let's allow them some privacy; this is something that Harry will cherish forever." Faykan said in a quiet voice.

Hermione smiled, this was something that only a best friend would think of. They started making their way down the tunnel again, and Hermione voiced the thought that had been plaguing her for some time, "If you love him, you really should tell him your feelings."

But Faykan was already shaking his head, "You don't understand my feelings Hermione."

"What don't I understand?" Hermione protested. To her it was a very simple concept.

"Its not important, however I feel about Harry, I simply must be there for him. I cannot allow that to be compromised by a mere romantic attraction that he doesn't even recognize. It would be best for him to remain oblivious than be distracted by complicated feelings from me that he may not even share." Hermione saw the words, but she knew in her heart that Faykan did not mean them. It hurt him to remain unnoticed by Harry, but his stupid pride wouldn't let him just open his heart to him. Boys! Hermione cursed the stupidity of the male gender in her mind.

They continued on in a muted silence until Hermione climbed out of the hole under the Whomping Willow. The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Hermione saw that Harry had a small smile on his face, his eyes focused off into the distance, clearly thinking about living with Sirius when he was freed.

"One wrong move, Peter," said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.

Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then…

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.

Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry, Faykan, and Hermione stop.

Hermione could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my…" she gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."

But Harry didn't run. He leapt forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.

"Leave it to me! RUN!"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Severus returned to consciousness slowly, his head throbbing as he awakened. He opened his eyes to see Potter, Undol, and Granger standing near him, their eyes transfixed on something behind him.

Severus stood, swaying slightly as he glared at the three students. He remembered Undol attacking him, right as he was about to capture Black and Lupin together.

"You three!" he sneered, but they ignored him, staring wide eyed behind him. Slowly, Severus turned, and the sight chilled him to the very bone. Lupin had transformed, and without the potion he was wild and dangerous. The werewolf's eyes were fixed on the four of them, and it stalked forward slowly, raising a paw to swipe Severus aside.

Severus threw his arms wide, protecting the students with his own body, and for an instant, he thought he might die, doing exactly as Lily would have expected him, protecting the son she had died to save. As his life flashed before his eyes, a giant black dog leaped from behind at the werewolf, latched its jaws around the beast's arm, and began dragging it backward, away from the humans.

"Sirius!" Potter cried, darting around Severus' arm and chasing foolishly after the werewolf and dog, snatching up stones from the ground.

"Come back here Potter!" Severus yelled, grasping on to Granger and Undol to prevent them from following.

The stupid boy threw his stones at the werewolf, distracting it from biting down on the dog, but its attention was redirected at him. It charged…

"NO! Harry!" Undol cried, wrenching himself from Severus' grip, diving headlong at the werewolf, just as he changed. Severus' eyes widened. Undol shifted into the large black fox, just as he hit the werewolf full force in the chest, clawing and biting at it, causing the beast to howl in fury and throw the fox into a nearby tree.

But the distractions were just enough to allow the giant dog to recover, and it attacked the werewolf again, drawing its attention once more and forcing the beast to chase it into the forest, away from them all. Potter stupidly chased after them. Severus cursed, and darted after them, glancing back at Granger, who was crouching by Weasley, who had been stunned apparently.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry's mind was reeling, both Faykan and Sirius were forcing Lupin to chase them into the forest, but how were they going to stop a rampaging werewolf?

Then, from beyond the trees, Harry heard a yelping, a whining, like a dog in pain…

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, plunging into the darkness.

The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. He pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it must mean…

The yelping stopped abruptly. As Harry reached the lakeshore, he saw why. Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"Nooo," he moaned. "Nooo... please..."

And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, were gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them...

"NO!" he yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it. 'I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.' He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: "_Expecto patronum_! _Expecto patronum_!"

The dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry, drawing closer…

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!"

A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him. But it was too weak; he couldn't fend off all these on his own…

"_Expecto… Expecto patronum_…"

Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember, 'Sirius was innocent… innocent… We'll be okay… I'm going to live with him…'

"_Expecto patronum_!" he gasped.

By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, He saw a dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak, holding a cruel dagger. It made a gesture as though to cut the Patronus aside. The light snuffed out immediately.

"No… no" Harry gasped.

He could feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest dementor seemed to be considering him, holding the dagger out, the blade seemed to shine eerily green. The sounds of their breathing seemed to alter, becoming almost words, but Harry couldn't make them out. His mind was going blank with screams.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" a new voice bellowed. A giant silver bird flew directly at the dementor above Harry, pushing it back, swiping it talons and snapping its beak at the cloaked wraith.

Someone knelt by Harry, checking his pulse, someone familiar. But the white fog still remained, the dementors were still there.

"You cannot have them!" the voice cried out again, "Be gone foul specters, leave us in peace. Or living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch them!"

But the cold was closing in again, the person's Patronus was fading, the silvery light was leaving them as the dementors drained it away.

Some one screamed, and the fog piled into Harry's mind, choking him, his mother was screaming in his ears… she was going to be the last thing he ever heard…

And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought he saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter... He felt himself fall forward onto the grass... Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes. The dementor must have released him. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around him... The screaming had stopped; the cold was ebbing away... Something was driving the dementors back... It was circling around him and Black and their first rescuer… they were leaving…

The air was warm again...

With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake... Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what it was... It was as bright as a unicorn... Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched it canter to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, somebody welcoming it back... raising his hand to pat it... someone who looked strangely familiar... but it couldn't be...

Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted.

_[1] Kaima : Sleep_

**_Please Review!_**


	17. Chapter 16

**Thanks to those who added this story and reviewed the last few chapters! On with the Story!**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Turning back Time**

Severus listened with half an ear as the Minister spoke to him. His first concern was getting his new Athelas potion up to the hospital wing to help heal the victims of the dementor attack.

"Shocking business... shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..." Fudge was saying as they entered the Hospital wing, Snape levitating a large cauldron between them.

"Thank you Minister." He replied, moving over to where Potter and Undol lay unconscious on beds. Undol was gasping in pain, thrashing unconsciously just as he had been when he arrived at the beginning of that school year. Hopefully, Severus had perfected this potion to amplify the effects of the herb, and it would sooth the emotional pain, allowing the boy to settle into peaceful sleep. Despite everything between them, Severus would never wish pain like this on anyone, except maybe Black or Lupin, but certainly not a thirteen-year-old boy. Severus was still surprised to find that the large black fox he had seen all over the castle was Undol, and he finally remembered seeing it since the boy's first year at the school, when he had confronted Quirrell on the third floor at Halloween. Apparently the boy had been up to his own devises even back then. Albus was right to be wary of the boy. He was clearly dangerous, to be so powerful at such a young age.

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!" Fudge continued, oblivious to the cries of pain coming from the bed in front of him, or Severus' deliberate ignoring of his prattle.

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister." Severus said idly, pooling some of the potion into bowls to place at the head of all the student's beds.

"Nasty cut you've got there... Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Mr. Undol here Minister..."

"No!" Fudge gaped, seeing the struggling boy as if for the first time.

"Black had bewitched him, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, or the Imperious curse, to judge by his behavior. He was absolutely convinced that Black was innocent. He cannot be held responsible for his actions." Severus grimaced at the words that Albus had forced him to say to protect the students. He personally knew that all four of them had known exactly what they were doing at the time. "On the other hand, his interference might have permitted Black to escape… Potter and his other friends obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now... I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves... and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster…"

"Ah, well, Snape... Harry Potter, you know... we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned." The idiotic Minister shrugged. Severus wished he could get back to work, but Albus had set him the task of distracting the Minister until he himself arrived.

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister... by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the boy…"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

Severus stopped as Potter opened his eyes wide, glaring up at him.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus strode into the Hospital wing, and right into a storm of shouting. Poppy was shouting at Cornelius, trying to get him to leave, while Harry and Hermione were shouting at both Severus and Cornelius, trying to convince them of the same story that Albus had just heard from the lips of Sirius Black. Personally, he had hoped that Sirius could stay out of Harry's life just a tad longer, but now that he was in it, he needed to stay alive and free for Harry's sake.

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically as Albus approached. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist!"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," Albus said calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black…"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in the children's' minds?" spat Severus. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive…"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Albus, surveying Severus closely through his spectacles, urging him with his eyes to leave the matter be for now.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Severus. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That was because you were asleep, Professor!" said Hermione earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear-"

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" Severus yelled

"Now, Snape," said Cornelius, startled, "the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances…"

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Albus said again abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy… please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Poppy. "They need treatment, they need rest…"

"This cannot wait," Albus persisted. "I must insist."

Poppy pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Cornelius consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

Cornelius crossed to the door and held it open for Severus, but the Potions Master hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Severus whispered, his eyes fixed on Albus' face.

"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Albus repeated, wishing that Severus wasn't so narrow minded. Severus took a step toward him.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen." he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus." Albus affirmed quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Cornelius was still holding. It closed behind them, and Albus turned to Harry and Hermione, after glancing at Undol's unconscious body. Yes, the boy was still out cold, and would not be able to interfere with his plans. Both Harry and Hermione burst into speech at the same time.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth, we saw Pettigrew… he escaped, when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf…"

"…he's a rat…"

"…Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off…"

"…Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius…"

Albus held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations. "It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word, and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret Keeper."

"Professor Lupin can tell you…" Harry said, unable to stop himself. Albus shook his head mentally. He liked the boy, but sometimes he could be a little thick.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little, and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends…"

"But…" Albus knew it was about time to set his plan into motion, and Harry's desperation to 'save' Sirius would fuel him on, as it had in the past.

"Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."

"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperation in her voice. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him…"

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man," Albus chided softly, "The attack on the Fat Lady, entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife. Without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."

"But you believe us."

"Yes, I do," Albus reassured gently. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic..." a lie, of course, he had all the authority needed to stay Sirius' death while they were on school grounds, but Harry and Hermione didn't need to know that.

Harry stared up into Albus' grave face and Albus knew that he felt hopelessly lost, unable to do anything to help. And now was the time put his little scheme into motion, the scheme that will inevitably lead to Harry's destruction of Voldemort.

"What we need," Albus said slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, "is more time."

"But…" Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round. "OH!"

"Now, pay attention," Albus instructed, speaking very low, and very clearly, "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor; thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: you must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law; you know what is at stake... You must not be seen…"

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Hermione's mind reeled with the information that Professor Dumbledore was giving her and Harry. He wanted her to use her Time-Turner to save Sirius? The consequences of being caught flashed through her mind, but what else could they do. No one would listen to them; the Minister had already brought the dementors up to kill him. She made up her mind in an instant, they were going to do it, and the Ministry be damned. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is…" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

But Hermione was already fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling out the fine chain on which lay the time turner.

"Harry, come here," she said urgently. "Quick!"

Harry moved toward her, completely bewildered. She held the chain out, ready to throw it over both of them. Harry's eyed the time turner suspiciously.

"Here…"

She threw the chain around his neck too.

"Ready?" she said breathlessly.

"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost.

Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.

The dark ward dissolved. They hurtled back in time three hours, one for each turn, and vastness of time and space swirled around them as they fell.

And then Hermione felt solid ground beneath her feet, and everything came into focus again. She was standing next to Harry in the deserted entrance hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. Harry looked wildly around at Hermione, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck.

"Hermione, what…?"

"In here!" Hermione seized Harry's arm and dragged him across the hall to the door of a broom closet; she opened it, pushed him inside among the buckets and mops, and then slammed the door behind them.

"What… how… Hermione, what happened?"

"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, lifting the chain off Harry's neck in the darkness. "Three hours back..."

"But…"

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think, I think it might be us!" Hermione had her ear pressed against the cupboard door. "Footsteps across the hall... yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us. It doesn't sound like more than four people... and we're walking slowly because we're all under the Invisibility Cloak…"

She broke off, still listening intently.

"We've gone down the front steps..."

Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket, ready to wait several minutes for their past selves to get a head start, but Harry wanted a few questions answered.

"Where did you get that hourglass thing?"

So Hermione explain the time turner to him, how she had gotten it on the first day back, and had been using it the entire school year to get to all her classes. She thankfully skipped over the small bits of painful weariness that she had felt from using it so often, or the paranoia that plagued her at the thoughts of someone finding out, or her fear of accidentally encountering herself. But she had a question of her own for Harry, Dumbledore wanted them to go three hours back, specifically, but how would that help Sirius?

Harry's eye brightened, "Buckbeak." He said, "Dumbledore wants us to save Buckbeak and use him to save Sirius, that's why he told us where he was being held…"

"If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"

"Well, we've got to try, haven't we?" said Harry. He stood up and pressed his ear against the door. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there... Come on, let's go."

Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold.

"If anyone's looking out of the window…" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind them.

"We'll run for it," said Harry determinedly. "Straight into the forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout…"

"Okay, but we'll go around by the greenhouses!" said Hermione breathlessly. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

And with that Harry set off at a sprint, Hermione behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could, skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward the shelter of the forest...

Safe in the shadows of the trees, Hermione caught up to Harry, panting slightly. "Right, we need to sneak over to Hagrid's… and keep out of sight…"

They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. Then Harry's voice came out of nowhere. "It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered urgently, but he stood back, and then shut the door quickly.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.

"You're telling me!" said a new voice. Hermione whipped around, her eyes wide, and she saw Faykan stumbling out of the woods, looking at them with a shocked expression.

"What the hell happened to you two, and where's Ron?" he said, confusion crossing his face. He looked into Harry's eyes, and slowly comprehension dawned, "You didn't!" he gasped, turning to Hermione, "What happened, why did you use the Time-Turner?"

"Wait!" Harry said, "You knew?"

"Of course I knew, it was painfully obvious what was going on Harry, even Ron was starting to notice. But don't change the subject, what happened."

"You know we can't tell you Faykan," Hermione said, wringing her hands, "Just the fact that you've seen us is bad, all you need to know is that we're going to rescue Buckbeak and Sirius, you need to proceed just as you normally would have."

"Yes," Harry added, "Go with the plan you made with Sirius." Faykan nodded, and pulled something crystal and translucent out of his pocket, handing it to Harry, "I thought you or Hagrid might need this, but I didn't expect to have to leave you before hand. If what I think happens, happens, you'll need this." And without another word, Faykan dodged out of sight, changing back into the black fox.

Harry was looking at the glass phial with a half grin on his face, but Hermione remembered that they needed to rescue Buckbeak. Dragging Harry by the wrist, they made it to the edge of the Pumpkin patch just as the execution party arrived. Together, Hermione and Harry watched the grass flatten in patches around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet retreating. Their past selves, and Ron had gone, but Hermione and Harry hidden in the trees could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out… outside," Hagrid croaked.

Harry pulled his head out of sight as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then they heard Fudge.

"We… err, have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure…"

Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.

"Wait here," Harry whispered to Hermione. "I'll do it."

As Fudge's voice started again, Harry darted out from behind his tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached Buckbeak. "It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall he executed on the sixth of June at sundown…"

Harry approached carefully, bowing while keeping his face turned to the hippogriff. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again. Harry then began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.

"...sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnai..."

"Come on, Buckbeak," Harry murmured, "come on, we're going to help you. Quietly... quietly..."

"...as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here..."

Harry threw all his weight onto the rope, and Buckbeak slowly got to his feet and trotted along with him.

"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned, darting out from behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster.

Harry looked over his shoulder back at Hagrid's, making sure they were hidden.

"Stop!" he whispered to Hermione. "They might hear us…"

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the hippogriff seemed to be listening intently. Silence... then…

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"

"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary," said Professor Dumbledore, with a note of amusement in his voice.

"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.

There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. And then came the howling, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs.

"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"

Buckbeak started to strain against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid. Harry and Hermione tightened their grip and dug their heels into the forest floor to stop him.

"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest."

"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" said Dumbledore, still sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will... Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

"O'… o' course, Professor," said Hagrid, who sounded weak with happiness. "Come in, come in... You'll find no small glasses in this house though…"

Harry and Hermione listened closely. They heard footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.

"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.

"We'll have to hide in here," said Hermione, slightly shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours... Oh, this is going to be difficult..."

She looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was setting now.

"We're going to have to move," said Harry, thinking hard. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Okay," said Hermione, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry, remember..."

They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the Willow.

"There's Ron!" said Harry suddenly.

Sure enough, their forms were materializing form under the cloak, dashing toward the Whomping Willow. Hermione realized that Faykan, Sirius, and Crookshanks had made a spectacular plan, none of them would have suspected the Willow of hiding the secret passage to the Shrieking Shack, or that Faykan could control the actions of the vicious tree. She reminded herself to ask Faykan how he had controlled it at a later time.

They watched as Sirius bounded forward, and dragged Ron into the passage, followed soon by herself, Harry and Crookshanks.

The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" Hermione commented. "If only Dumbledore had come with us..."

"Macnair and Fudge would've come too," said Harry bitterly. "I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot..."

They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes the scene was deserted. Then…

"Here comes Lupin!" said Harry as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and high-tailing it toward the Willow. Hermione looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely.

They watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.

"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," said Harry. "It's just lying there..."

He turned to Hermione.

"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and…"

"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"

"How can you stand this?" he asked Hermione fiercely. "Just standing here and watching it happen?" He hesitated. "I'm going to grab the cloak!"

"Harry, no!"

Hermione seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.

"See?" she whispered in Harry's ear. "See what would have happened? We've got to keep out of sight! No, Buckbeak!"

The hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid again; Harry seized his rope too, straining to hold Buckbeak back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head drooped sadly.

Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

Harry's fists clenched as they watched Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.

"Get your filthy hands off it," Harry snarled under his breath. "Shh!"

Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"So that's it," said Hermione quietly. "We're all down there... and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again..." she sat down to wait after tying Buckbeak to the nearest tree.

"And now we wait," Harry repeated, sitting next to her. Hermione had the sudden urge to tell Harry about Faykan, her suspicions, his feelings for Harry, what she had seen in the _Palantír_, but she restrained herself. When Faykan was ready, he would tell Harry, and she needn't worry him about her suspicions about his best friend. So she settled for asking him a question.

"Harry, there's something I don't understand... Why didn't the dementors get Sirius? I remember Snape telling Fudge about what he saw, how they were retreating when he arrived, but what happened?"

Harry sat down too. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest dementor had raised the dagger over Harry, someone had sent a Patronus to stop it, but it hadn't been enough, then finally a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the dementors to retreat.

Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished. "But who conjured it?"

Harry didn't say anything.

"Didn't you see what they looked like?" said Hermione eagerly. "Was it one of the teachers?"

"No," said Harry. "He wasn't a teacher."

"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those dementors away... If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see…?"

"Yeah, I saw him," said Harry slowly. "But... maybe I imagined it... I wasn't thinking straight... I passed out right afterward..."

"Who did you think it was?"

"I think…" Harry swallowed. "I think it was my dad."

"Harry, your dad's, well… dead," Hermione said quietly.

"I know that," said Harry quickly.

"You think you saw his ghost?"

"I don't know... no... He looked solid..."

Hermione wasn't sure about what Harry thought he had seen, but she was certain that is was not his father. They waiting for almost an hour in awkward silence, and the urge to spill the knowledge she had about Faykan became too much to bear, "Harry…"

"Shh, here we come Hermione." Harry whispered.

Hermione got to here feet right after Harry. Buckbeak raised his head. They saw Lupin, Ron, and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Next came Snape, drifting weirdly upward. Next came Harry and Black, and finally Faykan and Hermione. They all began to walk toward the castle.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Harry's heart was starting to beat very fast. He glanced up at the sky. Any moment now, that cloud was going to move aside and show the moon...

"Harry," Hermione muttered as though she knew exactly what he was thinking, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do..."

"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again." said Harry quietly.

"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Hermione.

"There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"

"All right!"

The moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then they saw movement…

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming…"

"Hermione!" said Harry suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"We mustn't, I keep telling you…"

"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to chase Faykan and Sirius into the forest, right at us!"

Hermione gasped.

"Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors wilt be coming any moment…"

"Back to Hagrid's!" Harry said. "It's empty now, come on!"

They ran as fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind them.

They could hear the werewolf howling behind them...

The cabin was in sight; Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it open, and Hermione and Buckbeak flashed past him; Harry threw himself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.

"Shh, Fang, it's us!" said Hermione, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quiet him.

"That was really close!" she said to Harry.

"Yeah..."

Harry was looking out of the window. It was much harder to see what was going on from here. Buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.

"I think I'd better go outside again, you know," said Harry slowly. "I can't see what's going on, we won't know when it's time…"

Hermione looked up. Her expression was suspicious.

"I'm not going to try and interfere," said Harry quickly. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

"Well... okay, then... I'll wait here with Buckbeak... but Harry, be careful, there's a werewolf out there… and the dementors…"

Harry stepped outside again and edged around the cabin. He could hear yelping in the distance. That meant the dementors were closing in on Sirius... He would be running to him any moment...

Harry stared out toward the lake, his heart doing a kind of drum roll in his chest... Whoever had sent that Patronus would be appearing at any moment...

For a fraction of a second he stood, irresolute, in front of Hagrid's door. You must not be seen. But he didn't want to be seen. He wanted to do the seeing... He had to know... And there were the dementors. They were emerging out of the darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the lake... They were moving away from where Harry stood, to the opposite bank... He wouldn't have to get near them... Harry began to run. He had no thought in his head except his father... If it was him... if it really was him... he had to know, had to find out...

The lake was coming nearer and nearer, but there was no sign of anybody. On the opposite bank, he could see tiny glimmers of silver, his own attempts at a Patronus.

There was a bush at the very edge of the water. Harry threw himself behind it, peering desperately through the leaves. On the opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished. A terrified excitement shot through him, soon now.

He saw the lead dementor swooping down at him, revealing the cruel greenish dagger.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" a familiar voice bellowed. A giant silver bird flew directly at the dementor above Harry, pushing it back, swiping it talons and snapping its beak at the cloaked wraith. Harry could make it out this time, a giant eagle. Faykan charged in behind it, directing his Patronus toward the dementors, urging it to protect both Harry and Sirius.

Faykan knelt by the other Harry, checking his pulse. "You cannot have them!" he yelled at the dementors, "Be gone foul specters, leave us in peace. Or living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch them!"

The dementors made new rasping noises, and Harry could heard familiar sounds, reminiscent of Faykan's boggart from so long ago, "_Gû kîbum kelkum-ishi, burzum-ishi. Akha gûm-ishi ashi gurum_," _[1]_ their darkness grew as they chanted the same words over and over again, and Faykan screamed as his Patronus died, the silvery light leaving them as the dementors drained it away.

"Come on!" Harry muttered, staring about. "Where are you? Dad, come on…"

Something was burning in his pocket. He pulled out the Phial of Galadriel that Faykan had given him earlier. And then it hit him; he understood. He hadn't seen his father, he had seen himself.

Harry flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his wand.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" he bellowed.

And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse. It was galloping silently away from him, across the black surface of the lake. He saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming dementors... Now it was galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness... They were gone.

The Patronus turned. It was cantering back toward Harry across the still surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasn't a unicorn, either. It was a stag. It was shining brightly as the moon above ... it was coming back to him...

It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it bowed its antlered head. And Harry realized... "Prongs," he whispered.

But as his trembling fingertips stretched toward the creature, it vanished.

Harry stood there, hand still outstretched. Then, with a great leap of his heart, he heard hooves behind him he whirled around and saw Hermione dashing toward him, dragging Buckbeak behind her.

"What did you do?" she said fiercely. "You said you were only going to keep a lookout!"

"I just saved everyone from the dementors…" Harry said. "Get behind here, behind this bush, I'll explain.

Hermione listened to what had just happened with her mouth open yet again.

"Did anyone see you?"

"Yes, haven't you been listening? I saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"

"Harry, I can't believe it... You conjured up a Patronus that drove away all those dementors! That's very, very advanced magic."

Harry held up the phial, still glowing in his left hand, the warmth dancing across his skin, "I knew I could do it. All I needed was the happiness and the confidence."

"Harry, look at Snape!"

Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape was conjuring stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Faykan, and Black onto them. A fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing...

They waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake, while the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms again.

"D' you reckon he's up there yet?" said Harry, checking his watch. He looked up at the castle and began counting the windows to the right of the West Tower.

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

Harry stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds, toward one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.

"Macnair!" said Harry. "The executioner! He's gone to get the dementors! This is it, Hermione…"

Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave her a leg up. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches of the bush and climbed up in front of her. He pulled Buckbeak's rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar like reins.

"Ready?" he whispered to Hermione. "You better hold on to me…"

He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.

Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully beneath them. Hermione was holding Harry very tight around the waist; he could hear her muttering, "Oh, no… I don't like this oh; I really don't like this…"

Harry urged Buckbeak forward. They were gliding quietly toward the upper floors of the castle... Harry pulled hard on the left hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Harry was trying to count the windows flashing past…

"Whoa!" he said, pulling backward as hard as he could.

Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop, unless you counted the fact that they kept rising up and down several feet as the hippogriff beat his wings to remain airborne.

"He's there!" Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside the window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Sirius was wondering how painful the dementor's kiss could be when there was a tapping on the window nearest him. He looked up, and his jaw dropped as he saw Harry bobbing up and down outside the seventh floor window.

"Stand back!" the girl behind Harry called to him, and she took out her wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.

"_Alohomora_!"

The window sprang open.

"How… how…?" Sirius said weakly, staring at the hippogriff they were riding.

"Get on… there's not much time," said Harry, gripping the hippogriff firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here, the dementors are coming, Macnair's gone to get them."

Sirius didn't need telling twice. He placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over the creatures back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind the girl.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower, come on."

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.

"What happened to the other boys? Ron and Faykan?" croaked Sirius.

"They're going to be okay. Still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says they'll be fine. Quick… go…"

But Sirius stared down at Harry, "How can I ever thank…"

"GO!" Harry and the girl cried together.

Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are… truly your father's son, Harry..."

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and his friend jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more... The hippogriff took off into the air, soaring up into the clouds and away from Hogwarts...

_[1] Gû kîbum kelkum-ishi, burzum-ishi. Akha gûm-ishi ashi gurum. : No life in coldness, in darkness. Here in void, only death._

**_Please Continue to Review!_**


	18. Epilogue

**Thanks to everyone who watched and reviewed book 3, it was greatly appreciated. and now for the exciting conclosion to Mists of Lies!**

**Epilogue**

**Looking Forward…**

"Harry!"

Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing without anybody seeing us, before Dumbledore locks the door…"

"Okay," said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, "let's go..." They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.

"...only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties," Snape was saying. "The Kiss will be performed immediately?"

"As soon as Macnair returns with the dementors. This whole Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that we've got him at last... I daresay they'll want to interview you, Snape... and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him..."

Harry clenched his teeth. He caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed Harry and Hermione's hiding place. Their footsteps died away. Harry and Hermione waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction, down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor.

"Hermione… what'll happen… if we don't get back inside before Dumbledore locks the door?" Harry panted.

"I don't want to think about it!" Hermione moaned, checking her watch again. "One minute!"

They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance. "Okay… I can hear Dumbledore," said Hermione tensely. "Come on, Harry!"

They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.

"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Harry and Hermione ran forward.

Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache. "Well?" he said quietly.

"We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak..." Dumbledore beamed at them.

"Well done. I think…" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too, get inside… I'll lock you in."

Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Faykan and Ron, who were still lying motionless in their beds. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry and Hermione crept back to their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was in a very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

Albus sighed as he settled himself into his chair the next day. The night Sirius 'escaped' was one he wouldn't forget soon. After Harry and Hermione returned and he locked them inside the Hospital wing, Severus had stormed down from Sirius' makeshift cell and demanded that Harry had had something to do with Black's escape. Albus chuckled softly, as in hindsight, Severus was perfectly correct in his suspicion. But thankfully, the usage of the Time-Turner was never revealed, and poor Severus was made out to look like a fool in front of the Minister, costing him his Order of Merlin. A small sacrifice, but Albus thought it was worth Sirius' freedom for the moment.

As Albus put a Lemon Drop into his mouth and began to enjoy the sour flavoring of the Muggle sweet, there was a knock at his door. "Enter," he said. Professor Trelawney opened the door, her shawls flowing around her as she strode up to the Headmaster's desk, "Good morning Sybill." Albus said smiling.

"Hello Professor," Sybill responded, "I am sorry to disturb you this early, but the fates have forewarned me of the terrible accident that has landed my most prized student in the hospital wing, and I felt it prudent to ask as to his welfare, since Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow me to see the poor boy for myself." Albus raised one eyebrow; it was not often that Sybill favored any students, even those that fawned after her. If she was concerned, then the boy in question must actually have talent in divination, if not the actual gift.

"I do believe you refer to Mr. Undol, if I am correct Sybill?" Albus asked. She nodded. "Well, he did have a small run in with the dementors last night, something related to the escape of Sirius Black no doubt, but Professor Snape had just perfected a potion that will have him up and about in a day or two at the latest."

Personally, Albus wasn't too happy about the boy being so quickly revived, he had hoped have more time to influence Harry before Faykan came back into the picture. They boy was indeed becoming a nuisance to Albus' plans.

Sybill had stopped speaking, but Albus didn't notice until her voice deepened, "_The sleeper with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord has stirred… awaiting freedom bought with sacrifice from those whom he loves… at his side is the Slayer of Darkness who shall love and serve him, and together they shall wield power that time has forgotten, power the Dark Lord will envy above all else… and he shall lead men with the battle cry of phoenix song… for need shall drive him, and the earth shall quake at the power of his command. He shall walk the land till the cry of the gulls he shall hear; for the sea shall call him… the sleeper has begun to awaken_…" Albus' jaw dropped, a new prophecy concerning Harry, clearly, and Voldemort, the Dark Lord, and… someone else, this 'Slayer of Darkness'…

As Sybill muttered something about falling asleep and departed, Albus pondered the possible meaning of what he had heard. If it meant what he thought, he was going to have to step in and help Harry more directly than he had been. And then there was the fact that to do this, Faykan would have to be out of the picture permanently. 'Well,' Albus thought, 'the Triwizard Tournament is planned to be played at Hogwarts next year…' and with that notion, Albus Dumbledore began to plan and plot.

_~~Sina tea kirma : This is a line break~~_

The last day of term was very important for Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. Not only were their exam results returned, they had passed everything, but a note was sent down to them at breakfast saying that Faykan had woken up at last. Together the four third years dashed up to the Hospital wing to see the black haired boy sitting up, eating what looked like a pound of chocolate, supervised closely by Madam Pomfrey. When he saw them all, Faykan broke into a wide grin.

They all dashed to his side, crushing him with their hugs, causing Madam Pomfrey to tut about disturbing patents that needed rest, but they ignored her, and she left them in peace. Harry had been worried that Faykan might not wake up this time, he was out much longer than the last time he encountered dementors. When they finally released him, Harry saw that his best friend had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, and Harry slugged him in the arm.

"You git," he said, "you did what you knew was the right thing to do. How could I be angry at you for that?" Harry hugged him again, hoping that he could squeeze the stupidity out of him while he was at it. He held on for longer than was probably considered appropriate, but he didn't care, he was too happy right now. When he finally released Faykan, the boy was flushed slightly, and everyone else was staring. "What?" Harry said, causing both Ron and Draco to burst out laughing.

They began to fill Faykan in on what he had missed over the last few days, namely that Professor Lupin had resigned, due to someone leaking the information that he was a werewolf, and that he had returned Harry's cloak and the marauder's map, saying that since he was no longer their teacher, he had no hesitation in returning the items to their rightful owner. They also had to inform Draco on what he has missed out on when they finally had encountered Sirius, and Draco practically had a fit right in the Hospital Wing, so great was his shock.

"Pity," Faykan commented when they had finished, "Lupin was the best Professor we ever had…" they all smiled weakly, because it was the truth.

"Harry," Faykan said abruptly, "Something's different, let me see," he stared into Harry's eyes for a moment, then smiled again, "the block on your magic has a new, bigger crack in it; magic is seeping out faster now. You should be able to do more than before now that the fracture is larger." This was good news indeed.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station the next morning, Hermione gave Harry, Faykan, Draco, and Ron some surprising news.

"I went to see Professor McGonagall this morning, just before breakfast. I've decided to drop Muggle Studies."

"But you passed your exam with three hundred and twenty percent!" said Ron.

"I know," sighed Hermione, "but I can't stand another year like this one. That Time-Turner, it was driving me mad. I've handed it in. Without Muggle Studies and Divination, I'll be able to have a normal schedule again."

"I still can't believe you didn't tell us about it," said Draco grumpily. "We're supposed to be your friends."

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone," said Hermione severely. She looked around at Faykan, who was watching Hogwarts disappear from view behind a mountain.

Harry wondered sadly where Sirius had run off to, "Oh, cheer up, Harry!" said Draco.

"I'm okay," said Harry quickly. "Just thinking about the holidays."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about them too," said Ron. "Harry, you and Faykan have got to come and stay with us. I'll fix it up with Mum and Dad, and we'll come get you or something, it's the Quidditch World Cup this summer! How about it? Come and stay, and we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get tickets from work."

This proposal had the effect of cheering Harry up a great deal.

Feeling considerably more cheerful, Harry joined his friends in several games of Exploding Snap, and when the witch with the tea cart arrived, he bought himself a very large lunch, though nothing with chocolate in it.

But it was late in the afternoon before the thing that made him truly happy turned up...

"Harry," said Hermione suddenly, peering over his shoulder. "What's that thing outside your window?"

Harry turned to look outside. Something very small and gray was bobbing in and out of sight beyond the glass. He stood up for a better look and saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a letter that was much too big for it. The owl was so small, in fact, that it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the train's slipstream. Harry quickly pulled down the window, stretched out his arm, and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch. He brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped its letter onto Harry's seat and began zooming around their compartment, apparently very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task.

Hedwig clicked her beak with a sort of dignified disapproval. Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl with his great yellow eyes. Ron, noticing this, snatched the owl safely out of harm's way.

Harry picked up the letter. It was addressed to him. He ripped open the letter, and shouted, "It's from Sirius!"

"What?" said Ron, Draco and Hermione excitedly. "Read it aloud!"

'_Dear Harry,_

_I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post. Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case this owl falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem eager for the job._

_I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted. I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you._

_I am enclosing something else for you, which I think will make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable. Trust your friends Harry, they'll lead you right._

_If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me. I'll write again soon._

_Sirius_'

Harry looked eagerly inside the envelope. There was another piece of parchment in there. He read it through quickly and felt suddenly as warm and contented as though he'd swallowed a bottle of hot butterbeer in one gulp.

'_I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends_.'

"That'll be good enough for Dumbledore!" said Harry happily. He looked back at Sirius's letter. "Hang on, there's a PS..."

'_I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat_.'

Ron's eyes widened. The minute owl was still hooting excitedly. "Keep him?" he said uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl for a moment; then, to Harry's and Hermione's great surprise, he held him out for Crookshanks to sniff.

"What do you reckon?" Ron asked the cat. "Definitely an owl?" Crookshanks purred.

"That's good enough for me," said Ron happily. "He's mine."

Harry read and reread the letter from Sirius all the way back into King's Cross station. It was still clutched tightly in his hand as he, Faykan, Ron, and Hermione stepped back through the barrier of platform nine and three-quarters. Draco had to wait for his parents on the platform, and he bid them farewell from there. "Harry," Faykan said, "If you don't care, I wish to stay with you this summer, this year had tired me out." he rubbed absently at the scar on his chest.

"Of course you can stay!" Harry exclaimed in delight! With that, Faykan grabbed Harry's arm, leading him into a shadowed alleyway, and apparated them back to Privet Drive.

**To Be Continued…**


	19. Year Four is Online

New Player 4: The Gathering Dark is up as a separate story. Please continue the adventure of Harry and friends in the exciting new episode.

Thank you for everyone who read and reviewed Year Three!


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